Columbia  ^^nitiem'tp 

THE  LIBRARIES 


PREACHING  IN  THE  RUSSIAN 
CHURCH 


LECTUEES  AND  SEKMONS  BY  A  PKIEST 
OF  THE  HOLY  OETHODOX  CHURCH 


BY 


SEBASTIAN  DABOVICH 


SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL. 

CUBEKY    AND    COMPANY,    PUBL] 
1899 


COPYRIGHT,    1899, 

BY 

SEBASTIAN    DABOVICH. 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


57505D 


To  THE  Parish  Priests 

AND    TO 

Their    Assistants,   the    School    Teachers   of    the 

Church  in  America, 

This    Volume    is   Kespectfully    Dedicated 

.    by  their  brother,one  who  knows  their  labor 

in  the  tilling  of  the  soil  and  the 

sowing  of  the  seed. 


Speaking  the  truth  in  love.    (Ephesians  iv :  15.) 


PREFACE. 


TN*this  book  I  offer  to  the  English-speaking  public  in 
-■-  general,  and  to  the  American  in  particular,  a  historic, 
theological,  and  moral  review  of  the  Orthodox  Eastern 
Apostolic  Church,  commonly  called  the  Greek-Russian 
Church,  in  the  form  of  lectures  and  sermons,  thus  en- 
abling them  to  see  the  actual  practice  and  teaching  of  a 
Church  which  is  making  herself  at  home  m  the  West, 
notwithstanding  her  birth  in  the  East,  and  which  knows 
none  other  head  but  Jesus  Christ. 

Now  and  then  people  are  told,  chiefly  through  small 
journalism,  that  the  Emperor  of  Eussia  is  the  head  of 
the  Orthodox  Church.  There  are  some  who  accept  this 
view,  and  these  belong  to  two  classes  :  the  uninformed 
and  the  prejudiced.  It  must  be  made  clear  that  the 
Orthodox  Church  has  three  of  her  Patriarchs  residing 
in  the  Turkish  Empire,  while  about  6,000,000  of  her 
members  are  the  subjects  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria, 
besides  which  we  have  to  count  the  Kingdom  of  Greece 
the  Church  in  Egypt,  and  three  independent  branches 
of  the  Church  in  the  Balkan  States.  We  simply  men- 
tion the  purely  characteristic  Orthodox  Church  in 
Japan,  the  missions  in  China,  America,  and  elsewhere, 
together  with  the  Church's  congregations  in  all  the 
countries  of  Europe,  which,  though  peculiarly  original 
in  regard  to  their  local  premises,  are,  nevertheless,  in 
spiritual  relationship  with  the  Great  Church  of  Holy 


6  PREFACE. 

Russia,  relyiDg  npon  her  for  the  larger  portion  of  their 
support.  And  the  Russian  Church,  enjoying  in  complete 
measure  the  sympathy  of  the  Orthodox  and  highly  pious 
Ruler  of  the  Empire,  does  not  begrudge  Orthodox  mis- 
sions her  support,  which  is  so  often  made  the  subject  for 
taunting  with  suspicions  by  outsiders  who  are  strangers 
to  the  Christian  spirit  of  toleration.  Thus  it  is  clear 
that  the  Orthodox  Church  has  no  Pope-head  ;  she  is  not 
a  monarchy,  but  as  the  Church  of  Christ  she  is  Catholic 
and  Apostolic.  Indeed,  it  would  seem  strange  to  say 
that  in  this  country  Queen  Victoria  is  the  head  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  because  the  Anglican  and  Episcopal 
Churches  are  in  close  communion. 

Readily  do  we  acknowledge,  and  sometimes  too  hastily 
adopt,  the  results  of  the  great  achievements  of  the 
Western  mind  and  spirit  in  the  affairs  of  this  world; 
but  in  matters  of  faith  the  Eastern  is, as  it  has  ever  been, 
the  source  and  cradle  of  everything  that  is  purest,  high- 
est, and  heavenly.  Humiliating  though  it  might  appear 
to  the  haughty  spirit  of  the  West,  it  will  at  last,  and  of 
necessity,  turn  its  eyes  towards  the  East  and  realize  the 
saying  :  Ex  Oriente  lux! 

SEBASTIAN  DABOVICH, 
A  priest  of  the  Holy  Orthodox  Church. 
San  Francisco,  on  the  day  of  our  Lady  of  Kazan,  1899. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

The  Immortality  of  the  Soul         .        .      9 
The  Necessity  for  Divine  Revelation, 
AND  THE  Indications  of  a  Revealed 

Religion 23 

The  Authenticity  and  Truthfulness  of 

THE  Gospel 37 

The  True  Church  of  Christ  .  .  .64 
The  Education  of  Children  .  .  .78 
Sermon  on  New  Year's  Day  .  .  .85 
Thoughts  on  Fast  and  Temperance  .  95 
Sermon  on  the  Gospel  of  the  Prodigal  103 
Sermon  Preached  on  Orthodox  Sunday  108 
Sermon  Preached  on  the  Third  Sunday 

OF  Great  Lent 115 

Sermon  for  the  Fourth  Sunday  in  Great 

Lent 122 

Thoughts  for  Good  Friday  at  the  Pas- 
sions AND  Burial  of  Christ      .        .  128 


8  contents. 

Sermon  on  the  Gospel  Kelating  to  the 

Impotent 133 

Sermon  for  the  Sunday  when  the  Gospel 

OF  the  Blind  is  Eead  .  .  .  143 
Sermon  on  the  Feast  of  the  Ascension  148 
Sermon  Preached  on  Trinity  Sunday  .  153 
The  Condition  of  Society  .  .  .  160 
Sermon  to  Those  Preparing  for  Holy 

Communion 165 

Address  on  Christmas  Day      .        .        .  169 


THE   IMMOETALITY  OF  THE   SOUL. 

God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  hut  of  the  living:  for  all 
live  unto  Him.    (Luke  xx.  38.) 

THERE  are  many  proofs  testifying  to  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  and  they  differ  by 
degrees  of  strength,  and  the  source  from  whence 
they  proceed.  There  are  proofs  of  supposition, 
then  positive  ones,  and,  finally,  decisive  i)roofs. 
We  have  some  in  visible  nature,  others  are  had 
from  the  attributes  of  God's  being,  and  from  the 
nature  of  our  soul,  and  then  there  are  open  and 
experimental  proofs. 

What  do  we  see  in  nature?  A  change  of  one 
and  the  same  being  from  one  condition  to  another 
higher  form  of  existence.  This  is  observed  more 
clearly,  especially,  in  the  world  of  insects.  Take, 
for  an  instance,  the  creeping  worm  and  the  flying 
butterfly,  etc.  In  the  same  manner  does  man 
here  on  earth  undergo  two  principal  forms  of 
life,  to  say  nothing  of  his  ages. 

First  he  is  formed  and  lives  unconsciously  in 
his  mother's  womb,  then,  on  being  born  into  the 


10         PREACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHUECH. 

world,  he  lives  on  the  earth.  This  life  is  incom- 
paratively  higher  than  the  first,  yet  here  the  days 
for  man  are  exchanged  by  dark  nights;  after  days 
of  good  fortune  there  come  days  of  misfortune. 
It  is  natural  for  him  to  await  a  third  and  better 
life,  when  he  will  freely  move  in  the  space  over 
the  earth,  where  it  is  eternal  day,  and  where 
there  is  no  sorrow  nor  sighing. 

Of  course  this  proof  is  suppositional,  but  it 
contains  no  small  degree  of  convincing  power. 
The  Lord  himself  has  implanted  in  our  nature 
types  and  foretellings  of  the  better  life  which  is 
to  come. 

We  also  see  that  the  animal  kingdom,  and  man 
as  well,  are  gifted  with  a  generic  immortality. 
By  transmitting  life  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion, they  will  last  as  long  as  the  earth  continues 
in  its  present  condition.  And  why  cannot  God 
give  to  the  highest  of  all  creatures,  and  to 
him  who  rules  over  all  animals  —  i.  e.,  to  man  — 
besides  a  generical  also  a  personal  immortality? 
The  Lord  is  all-powerful.  He  can  create  ever- 
lasting beings.  He  is  all-good,  and  the  best 
good  is  a  life  which  has  no  end  and  knows  no 
grief. 

The  highest  being  on  earth,— i.e.,  man, — 
were  he  not  destined  everlastingly  to  glorify  the 


THE   IMMORTALITY   OF   THE   SOUL.  11 

eternal  God,  and  were  he  not  immortal,  the  earth 
would  be  a  sorrowful  spectacle  of  the  all-destroy- 
ing and  all-devouring  death,  and  God  would  be 
only  the  God  of  the  dead,  and  not  of  the  living 
upon  earth. 

There  are  yet  other  proofs  of  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  which  rest  upon  two  principles  com- 
bined: First,  the  existence  and  attributes  of 
God;  second,  upon  the  nature  of  the  soul. 

The  first  positive  and  clear  proof  of  this  kind 
is  the  following:  Without  a  doubt  there  is  a 
God;  because  He  reveals  Himself  to  man,  not 
only  in  his  soul,  but  in  visible  nature,  and  by  a 
direct  manifestation  of  Himself.  He  is  a  being 
all-just,  all-holy.  In  the  nature  of  man's  soul 
he  has  implanted  the  aspiration  for  good  deeds, 
and  the  aversion  for  evil;  and  there  are  many 
people  who  try  to  do  right  and  accomplish  holy 
deeds,  while  at  the  same  time  they  bear  heavy 
trials  of  self-renouncement.  Yet  we  see  on  earth 
that  sinners  often  enjoy  good  fortune  and  suc- 
cess, and  the  just  suffer  till  death,  and  mostly  at 
the  hands  of  sinners. 

If  there  was  no  other  life  for  people,  in  which 
there  must  be  a  reward  according  to  actions, 
then  God  would  not  be  all-just  and  holy.  He 
would  not  be  merciful  to  the  good,  while  show- 


12         PREACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

ing  mercy  to  the  unjust  ones,  and  this  cannot  be 
conceived  of  God.  Therefore,  as  God  is  holy, 
there  will  be  another  life,  in  which  the  sinners 
and  the  righteous  will  receive  their  just  reward. 

Another  proof  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul 
is  like  this,  but  wider  in  its  contents.  In  the 
mind  of  man  God  has  implanted  a  desire  for  the 
truth,  in  his  will  a  striving  for  the  good,  in  his 
heart  an  inspiration  for  happiness;  but  the  mind 
of  man  does  not  become  satisfied  with  the  knowl- 
edge obtained  on  earth.  He  sees  that  it  is  not, 
by  far,  complete  and  perfect.  His  will  meets 
with  much  resistance  in  growing  in  the  good. 
Although  man  labors  much  for  the  good  while 
on  earth,  yet  he  finds  himself,  by  far,  undevel- 
oped in  a  moral  sense;  he  feels  the  burden  of 
sin;  his  heart  finds  no  true  blessedness  on  earth. 
The  thought  of  eternity  and  the  everlasting  is 
rooted  in  our  soul.  It  is  not  only  that  the  soul 
possesses  the  idea  of  the  infinite  and  most  high 
Being,  but  with  the  heart  and  will  itself  it 
yearns  to  approach  Him. 

Furthermore,  what  meaning  is  there  in  the 
fact  that  people,  by  different  ways,  endeavor  to 
perpetuate  their  name  upon  the  earth,  desiring 
to  be  remembered  as  long  as  possible  after  their 
death? 


THE    IMMOllTALITY   OF   THE   SOUL.  13 

All  mankind,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  indi- 
viduals, believe  in  the  future  life.  AVhy  should 
the  Creator  implant  in  the  spirit  of  man  such 
lofty  aspirations,  if  they  were  not  to  be  realized, 
if  such  hopes  were  not  fulfilled  and  desires  not 
satisfied,  —  i.  e.,  if  there  were  no  better,  everlast- 
ing existence?  It  would  not  be  according  to  the 
goodness,  and  the  wisdom,  and  the  holiness  of 
the  Almighty,  of  which  we  know. 

Therefore,  as  it  is  beyond  doubt  that  there  is 
an  eternal  and  all-perfect  God,  it  is  also  beyond 
doubt  that  there  will  be  a  life  without  end  for 
man,  in  which  the  longings  of  his  spirit,  or  soul, 
will  be  satisfied. 

Also,  many  uncommon  manifestations  of  the 
powers  of  the  soul  prove  its  non-materialistic 
and  everlasting  qualities.  Such  are:  Predictions 
of  events  in  the  future;  visions  of  what  is  going 
on  in  another  part  of  the  earth,  at  a  great  dis- 
tance; and  distinct  foresight  of  the  future,  some- 
times at  a  very  long  period  in  advance,  and  most 
often  in  images,  not  only  in  sleep,  but  also  in  a 
wakeful  condition. 

The  most  definite  and  decisive  proofs  of  the 
immortality  of  the  soul  are  the  theological  ones 
which  we  have  from  Divine  revelation,  and  also 
experimental  ones,  in  the  appearance  of  the 
souls  of  people  who  are  dead. 


14         PREACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

God  has  many  times  revealed  Himself  to 
people,  in  different  ways,  and  he  still  does  so, 
through  His  saints,  chiefly  in  prophecies,  signs, 
and  miracles.  But  why  has  He  revealed  Him- 
self to  people,  and  does  so  still?  He  has  and 
yet  does  so  in  order  to  prepare  us  for  the  next 
blessed  life. 

God  has  not  only  revealed  Himself  to  man- 
kind, but  he  has  shown  us  the  way  and  the 
means  by  which  to  attain  the  better,  heavenly 
life. 

The  Lord,  in  his  revelation,  says  that  the  soul 
will  live  eternally,  that  it  will  never  die,  and  that 
man,  in  his  very  body,  after  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  cannot  die.     (Luke  xx.  36.) 

It  would  fill  a  large  book  to  relate  all  the 
appearances  of  the  soul  known  of  in  the  ancient 
world.  And  since  the  time  of  Christianity  you 
have  read  or  heard  of  the  miracles  in  the  lives 
of  the  saints. 

If  we  were  to  gather  authentic  facts  pertain- 
ing to  visions  from  the  spirit  world  in  a  period 
nearer  to  our  day,  why,  they  would  make  up 
several  volumes.  Not  only  saints  have  appeared, 
but  sinners,  and  the  souls  of  common  people 
were  revealed  on  earth  for  the  knowledge  and 
the  assuring  of  the  living  in  the  existence  of  a 
future  life. 


THE   IMMORTALITY   OF   THE   SOUL.  15 

x-Vltliough  it  is  forbidden  Christians  to  thrust 
themselves,  of  their  own  accord,  reaching  out 
for  still  more  evidence,  into  the  spirit  world,  as 
well  as  it  is  strictly  condemned  by  the  Church 
systematically  to  practice  the  occult  sciences, 
yet,  on  an  occasion  like  this  one,  we  may,  for 
your  proper  information,  relate,  of  the  many,  at 
least  a  few  such  instances. 

When  the  Queen  of  Sweden,  Ulrica,  had  died 
in  the  castle  of  Gripsholm,  her  body  was  laid  in 
a  coffin,  and  in  the  front  room  a  company  of  the 
Royal  Guards  were  on  duty.  Punctually  at 
noon-time  there  appeared  in  the  parlor  the 
Countess  Stenbok,  from  the  capital  of  Stock- 
holm, whom  the  Queen  had  loved,  and  the  com- 
mander of  the  Guards  led  her  to  the  body  of 
the  Queen,  and  left  her  there. 

As  she  did  not  soon  return,  the  Captain  opened 
the  door,  but,  struck  with  horror,  he  fell  back. 
On  running  to  his  aid,  the  officers  then  present 
saw,  through  the  open  door,  the  Queen,  who  was 
standing  in  her  coffin,  and  embracing  the  Count- 
ess Steinbok.  The  vision  seemed  to  float,  and 
then  changed  into  a  heavy  mist.  When  it  soon 
cleared  off,  the  body  of  the  Queen  was  lying 
in  the  coffin,  and  the  Countess  Stenbok  was 
nowhere  to  be  found  in  the  castle. 


16         PREACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

At  once  a  messenger  was  dispatched  with 
information  of  this  incident  to  Stockholm,  but 
word  came  back,  that  the  Countess  had  not  left 
the  capital,  and  that  she  died  at  the  time  when 
they  saw  her  in  the  embrace  of  the  Queen. 

Immediately  a  statement  of  the  facts  was  writ- 
ten down,  and  signed  by  all  who  saw  this  vision.* 

Much  has  been  written  of  the  appearances 
of  the  ivhite  woman,  at  different  times,  in  the 
palaces  and  castles  of  Germany,  foretelling  the 
death  of  a  member  of  the  royal  family.  Judging 
from  a  portrait  which  was  found,  she  proved  to 
be  the  Princess  Bertha  von  Rozenberg,  who 
lived  in  the  fifteenth  century. 

In  December,  1628,  she  went  through  the 
apartments  and  halls  of  the  Berlin  mansion, 
and  distinctly  pronounced  these  words :  "  Come, 
thou  Judge  of  the  living  and  the  dead.  There 
is  yet  hope  of  a  judgment  for  me."  During 
the  present  century  she  appeared  to  the  Queen 
Louise  twice,  and  later  on,  —  on  other  occasions, 
which  you  may  remember,  having  read. of  it  in 
the  newspapers. 

Leaving  these  narratives,  of  which  there  are 
many  in  the  histories  of  all  nations,  we  shall 
now  take  up  some  facts,  which  are  more  appeal- 


*  See  the  second  edition  of  Dr.  Shalberg's  book,  p.  63. 


THE   IMMORTALITY   OF   THE   SOUL.  17 

ing  and  pleasant,  for  tlie  reason  that  they  con- 
cern persons  who  are  especially  dear  to  us,  being 
members  of  the  Orthodox  Church  of  Christ. 

In  1855  there  lived  in  the  town  of  Epiphany, 
in  the  Russian  province  of  Tula,  a  merchant,  by 
name  Basil  Ivanov  R.,  who  held  the  office  of 
church-warden  at  the  cathedral.  His  family 
consisted  of  himself,  his  wife,  two  sons,  —  Nich- 
olas, 23  years  of  age,  and  married;  John,  17 
years  old,  —  and  three  daughters,  —  Catherine, 
13  years;  Eaisa,  11;  and  Alexandra,  6  years. 

On  the  10th  of  April,  1855,  which  was  on  the 
eve  of  the  Sunday  of  the  Holy  Myrrh-bearing 
Women,  Raisa,  from  fright,  was  suddenly  taken 
with  strong  convulsions,  while  at  the  same  time 
she  evoked  curses  against  God  and  His  saints, 
but  especially  against  St.  Sergius.  Medical  aid 
afforded  no  relief  to  the  unfortunate  child. 

Two  months  after  the  disease  began,  on  the 
11th  and  12th  of  June,  Raisa  was  taken  with 
still  more  terrible  convulsions.  Becoming  con- 
scious, she  said  that  St.  Sergius  appeared  to  her, 
that  he  talked  with  her,  and  brought  her  a  church 
loaf,  which  she  ate.  It  seemed  as  though  she 
ate,  her  relations  said,  but  they  could  not  see 
the  prosphora^  and  attributed  this  to  her  sick- 
ness. The  unbelief  of  her  oldest  brother,  Nich- 
olas, was  especially  painful  to  the  girl. 


18         PEEACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHUECH. 

In  response  to  the  instructions  of  St.  Sergiu«, 
she  requested  all  in  the  house  to  repeat  the 
prayer,  May  God  arise,  and  to  make  the  sign 
of  the  cross.  With  great  difficulty  the  mother 
set  her  fingers  and  made  the  sign  of  the  cross 
upon  her.  It  appeared  to  her  that  evil  spirits 
were  leaving  h^r,  as  she  saw,  on  making  the 
form  of  the  cross. 

By  another  intimation  from  St.  Sergius,  an 
image  of  himself  was  found  in  the  corner  behind 
the  sacred  pictures,  and  this  was  put  upon  her. 

Desiring  to  convince  her  brother  of  the  fact 
of  the  appearance  of  the  holy  man  with  a  church 
loaf,  she  asked  for  a  glass  of  clean  water,  and 
taking  some  of  the  water  into  her  mouth,  she  let 
it  out  again.  Then  could  be  seen  crumbs  of 
white  bread  in  the  water,  which  no  one  had 
given  her. 

After  this  she  announced  that  the  saint  would 
come  to  her  on  the  13th  date.  At  eleven  o'clock 
in  the  evening  of  the  appointed  day,  another 
spasm  most  frightfully  shook  her.  In  half  an 
hour  after,  she  arose  and  said,  "  Here  comes  St. 
Sergi,"  and  then  went  to  the  window.  Having 
opened  the  window,  she  let  out  her  arms  and 
began  talking  to  some  one.  After  this  she 
turned  to  her  brother,  and  giving  him  something 


THE   IMMORTALITY   OF   THE   SOUL.  19 

in  a  paper,  tells  him  to  hold  it  with  reverence, 
as  something  holy.  Then  was  given  her,  from 
below  the  window,  a  cross  made  of  white  rib- 
bons. After  showing  it,  she  said  that  she  was 
told  to  return  it.  At  this  her  face  became  bright. 
Her  parents  and  the  home  folk  at  the  same  time 
felt  a  happiness  and  reverent  fear. 

Notwithstanding  all  their  requests  to  give 
them  the  cross,  she  let  it  down  in  her  hand  out 
of  the  window,  and  it  disappeared.  The  family 
ran  out  of  the  house,  which  was  a  one-story 
building,  began  to  look  for  the  cross  under  the 
window,  but  could  not  find  it. 

After  this  she  requested  her  brother  to  show 
what  he  held  in  his  hand.  There  was  found  in 
the  paper  a  corner-formed  particle  of  a  church 
loaf,  and  some  pieces  of  incense.  Upon  the 
paper  these  words  were  written:  "It  is  Thou, 
O  Lord." 

On  being  questioned  by  her  relations,  she 
said  that  St.  Sergius  came  to  her  in  company 
with  a  beautiful  lad  who  was  girdled  with  a 
deacon's  stole.  The  holy  man  took  out  from 
under  his  cloak  a  napkin,  out  of  which  he  gave 
her  the  paper  and  the  cross.  The  paper  with 
the  prosphora  and  incense  he  ordered  to  be 
kept,  but   the  cross  to  be  returned.      He   also 


20         PREACHING  IN   THE  RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

gave  instructions  that  the  girl's  relations  should 
belieye,  especially  the  brother  Nicholas.  Con- 
cerning the  lad  who  appeared  with  him,  he  said : 
"He  will  guard  you." 

After  this  the  sick  girl  became  entirely  well. 
The  next  year,  in  June,  1856,  she  traveled  with 
her  mother  and  sister  to  the  Troitsa  Monastery, 
or  Lavra  of  St.  Sergi,  near  Moscow,  and  her 
mother  told  the  superiors  of  all  that  happened. 
The  particle  of  church  bread,  which  she  brought 
with  her,  proved  to  be  the  baking  of  the  Monas- 
tery. 

These  events  were  written  down,  and  as  facts 
they  were  attested  to  by  the  signatures  of  the 
girl's  father,  mother,  and  brother,  and  then  by 
the  archpriest,  the  priest,  and  the  deacon  of  the 
St.  Nicholas  Cathedral  in  Epiphany,  by  each 
separately.  Still  this  occurence  was  not  pub- 
lished in  print  for  six  years,  only  after  six  years, 
when  it  was  learned  that  Raisa  still  continued  in 
good  health,  it  was  published  with  the  consent 
of  Metropolitan  Philaret  in  the  journal  of  the 
Theological  Academy  of  Moscow,  This  appear- 
ance of  St.  Sergius  occurred  464  years  after  his 
death. 

In  1812,  when  Napoleon  entered  Moscow, 
Prince   Eugene,   the   Viceroy  of   Italy,  with   a 


THE   IMMORTALITY   OF   THE   SOUL.  21 

division  of  warriors  left  Moscow  for  Zveniqorod 
to  pursue  the  Kussian  partisans.  The  Prince 
occupied  rooms  in  the  Monastery  of  St.  Sawa, 
who  was  a  pupil  of  St.  Sergius  of  Radonej. 
About  ten  o'clock  the  Prince,  without  undressing, 
lay  down  and  fell  asleep.  In  the  meantime  he 
sees  a  man  in  a  long  black  habit  —  whether  asleep 
now  or  awake,  he  did  not  know ;  by  the  light  of 
the  moon  he  could  see  the  man  walk  close  up  to 
him ;  he  was  old,  with  a  grey  beard.  Then  the 
visitor  said  to  him :  "  Give  thy  men  orders  not 
to  plunder  the  monastery;  especially  see  that 
they  take  nothing  from  out  the  church.  If  thou 
compliest  with  my  wish,  then  God  will  have 
mercy  upon  thee,  and  thou  shalt  return  to  thy 
fatherland  well  and  in  safety." 

Next  morning  the  prince  gave  command  that 
the  division  should  return  to  Moscow ;  first,  on 
going  into  the  church,  he  saw  by  the  tomb  of  St. 
Sabbas  a  picture  of  the  man  who  appeared  to 
him,  and  recognizing  the  image  he  reverently 
knelt  before  the  relics  of  the  saint  and  then  took 
down  in  his  diary  a  note  of  all  that  happened. 
All  the  marshals  of  Napoleon  came  to  their 
end  unfortunately,  but  Eugene  remained  safe 
and  was  nowhere  wounded  in  a  battle  after  this. 
He   expressed   his   will  to  his  son  Maximilian 


22         PKEACHING  IN   THE   EUSSIAN   CHUKCH. 

that,  should  he  ever  visit  Eussia,  to  go  and  offer 
his  veneration  at  the  tomb  of  St.  Sabbas.  The 
son  came  to  Russia  in  1839,  during  the  reign  of 
Emperor  Nicholai  Pavlovich,  and  after  the  mili- 
tary maneuvers  on  the  field  of  Borodina,  in 
memory  of  the  battle  of  1812,  he  inquired  of  the 
whereabouts  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Sawa, 
went  there  with  guides,  and  knelt  before  the 
grave  of  the  holy  man.  This  event  is  so  well 
known  in  history  that  there  can  be  no  doubt. 

And  so,  this  earth  is  a  place  for  our  temporal 
residence.  It  is  the  nursery  of  reasonable  beings 
for  other  worlds.  Thus,  we  will,  and  may  be 
soon,  taken  from  the  earth.  Let  us  pray  the  Lord, 
that  He  give  us  strength  to  leave  our  sins,  which 
bring  us  down  into  the  dark  spaces  of  the  uni- 
verse, and  that  He  help  us  to  accomplish  deeds 
which  take  us  up  into  the  high,  eternally  bright 
mansions  of  heaven.     Amen. 


THE  NECESSITY  FOB  DIVINE  REVE- 
LATION, AND  THE  INDICATIONS  OF 
A  REVEALED   RELIGION. 

As  you  believe  not  me,  believe  the  works  which  I  do,  that 
ye  may  knoiv  and  understand  that  the  Father  is  in  me,  and 
I  in  the  Father,  saith  our  Lord  to  the  unbelieving  Jews. 
(John,  x.  38.) 

THERE  are  many  religions  in  the  world, 
and  each  people  separately  seem  to  be  con- 
vinced that  they  hold  the  true  faith,  which  was 
established  by  God.  Why  is  it  that  the  different 
races  of  mankind  consider  their  faith  to  be  the 
one  Divinely  revealed?  It  is  because  God  has 
revealed  Himself  to  the  first  people  created  by 
Him;  then,  during  the  course  of  time.  He  re- 
vealed Himself  to  the  better  people,  informing 
them,  and  others  through  them,  of  His  holy  will. 
Fifteen  centuries  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  dur- 
ing the  time  of  Moses,  God  made  known  His 
holy  will,  through  Balaam  the  prophet,  who  lived 
in  the  midst  of  pagans.  About  this  time,  or 
somewhat  earlier,  God  appeared  —  for  his  pres- 


24         PKEACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

ence  individually  may  be  revealed — to  Job  and 
his  friends.  But  sooner  than  this,  when  nations 
began  to  leave  God,  and  corrupted,  by  injurious 
notions,  the  revealed  religion,  —  then  it  was  that 
evil  spirits  commenced  to  deceive  them  with 
their  revelations.  Finally,  there  were  persons, 
also,  who,  abusing  the  confidence  and  belief  of 
others  in  Divine  revelation,  falsely,  but  craftily, 
set  up  themselves  as  messengers  from  God. 

Why  did  God,  from  the  beginning,  reveal 
himself  to  people?  Because,  as  we  have  said, 
the  natural  knowledge  of  the  human  mind  con- 
cerning God,  even  before  the  fall  of  man,  has 
not  the  strength,  the  precision,  and  the  complete- 
ness ;  yet  man  is  responsible  for  his  actions :  he 
is  obliged  to  answer  for  his  attitude  toward  God, 
to  other  people,  and  to  himself.  Therefore  all 
people  in  general  believe  only  in  a  revealed  reli- 
gion. Some  people  foolishly  say,  God  has  given 
man  a  mind,  and  that  is  enough  for  him.  But 
has  not  man,  even  besides  his  mind,  many  other 
teachers,  in  the  persons  of  his  parents,  teachers, 
and  guardians  ?  Why  should  it  be  against  rea- 
son to  have  as  our  teacher  God  Himself  in  those 
things  which  pertain  to  God? 

Further,  experience  shows  that  mankind  is  in 
a  disordered  condition,  out  of  which  it  cannot 


NECESSITY   FOll   DIVINE   REVELATION.  25 

help  itself.  Is  it  natural  that  people,  who  are 
considered  educated,  while  not  believing  in  Di- 
vine revelation,  should,  in  matters  of  knowledge 
concerning  the  Divine,  separate  into  parties 
which  are  opposed  to  ane  another? 

1.  A  certain  party,  in  defiance  of  sound  rea- 
son, says  that  God,  and  His  law  given  to  people, 
do  not  exist ;  but  they  suppose  that  matter,  with 
its  invisible  power,  (nevertheless,  it  is  supposed 
by  them  that  matter  has  its  invisible  power  and 
law, )  has  existed  forever,  and  that  the  world  and 
our  living  is  not  controlled  by  a  reasonable  Law- 
giver. 

2.  There  are  some  which  say  that  everything 
in  the  world  is  God;  all  the  things  which  we  can 
see,  they  say,  is  the  expression  of  the  invisible 
soul  of  the  world,  which  is  unconscious,  and  gets 
to  know  itself  by  an  evolution  in  the  different 
forms  of  life.  These  so-called  theosophists 
thereby  ascribe  to  God  Himself  all  the  failures, 
defects,  and  crimes  which  proceed  from  people's 
abuse  of  liberty.  Other  faults  of  these  false 
teachings  have  been  pointed  out  before. 

3.  Yet  there  are  others,  who  recognize  God 
as  an  infinite,  perfect  spirit^  the  Creator  of  the 
universe ;  but  they  do  not  consider  Him  as  the 


26         PKEACHING  IN  THE   RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

provider  of  the  world,  claiming  that  God,  hav- 
ing created  the  world,  gave  it  at  the  time,  once 
for  always,  wise  laws,  and  that  he  does  not  any 
longer  concern  Himself  immediately  about  the 
world,  but,  say  they,  it  governs  itself  by  the 
laws  given  to  it. 

There  have  been,  and  there  are  such  people 
still,  who  worship,  not  one,  but  many  gods,  and, 
at  that,  not  only  good  ones,  but  also  evil  ones, 
which  are  opposed  one  to  another.  To  what  in- 
consistencies does  not  the  fallen  reason  come, 
when  left  to  itself  in  matters  which  pertain  to 
the  knowledge  of  God !  And  it  thus  continues 
for  many  thousand  years,  and  it  seems  there 
will  be  no  end  to  the  disputes,  in  deciding 
the  most  important  questions  concerning  God 
and  the  world,  among  the  wise  ones  of  this 
world ;  because  to  the  natural  powers  and  mind 
of  man  there  is  a  fixed  limit  Take  for  in- 
stance the  natural  sciences ;  i.  e.,  the  different 
studies  about  the  visible  world. 

Let  man  perfect  the  instruments  necessary 
for  examining  the  things  of  this  earth ;  let  him 
discover  new  powers  and  laws  which  were  not 
known  to  him  before;  let  him  enlarge  the  astro- 
nomical lens,  and  see  new  starry  worlds, — yet 


NECESSITY   FOR   DIVINE   REVELATION.  27 

in  all  this  he  will  see  only  matter  with  force  in 
action,  although  according  to  wise  laws,  never- 
theless according  to  laws  of  necessity;  and  one 
learned  man,  such  as  Ne^vton,  will  pay  homage 
at  the  very  name  of  the  Creator,  while  another, 
such  as  Leland,  will  sacrilegiously  declare  that 
he  did  not  see  God,  even  through  the  telescope. 
What  do  the  sciences  say  of  man?  Should  we 
not  take  the  words  of  Moses  concerning  the  be- 
ginning of  the  human  race  as  Divinely  revealed, 
then,  for  the  want  of  other  historical  monu- 
ments, the  beginning  of  mankind  and  the  first 
ages  would  be  covered  under  darkness  of  the 
perfectly  unknown,  and  there  would  be  no  end 
to  the  conjectures  and  disputes  concerning  the 
beginning  of  people,  the  differences  of  race  and 
languages,  etc. 

Further,  can  the  science  of  the  soul  explain 
and  decide  these  questions :  How  is  the  soul 
born  of  the  souls  of  parents?  How  does  the 
soul  act  upon  the  body  ?  and  how  is  it  that  the 
soul  influences  the  body  ? 

God  Himself,  to  ends  which  are  most  wise, 
has  ordered  it  so  that  the  soul's  action  upon  the 
body,  and  that  of  the  body  upon  the  soul,  and 
the  connection  between  them,  should  remain 
beyond   the   reach   of   our   self-conscience.     If 


28         PREACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

man  does  not  know  how  it  is  that  the  soul  influ- 
ences the  body,  then  how  may  he  expound  and 
define  the  questions,  How  did  the  infinite, 
Divine  Spirit  bring  forth  this  visible,  material 
world?  and  how  does  He  act  upon  it?  There- 
fore the  sound  reason  of  nations  calls  for  a 
faith,  and  demands  a  revealed  religion;  and 
God  actually  revealed  Himself  to  people,  which 
for  them  was  and  is  necessary,  as  they  cannot 
attain  to  such  knowledge  by  their  own  limited 
powers.  Amazingly  much  is  the  feebleness 
of  mind  in  defining  the  highest  questions  of 
knowledge.  No  less  feeble  is  the  fallen  will  in 
accomplishing  good  and  unselfish  works  with- 
out special  help  from  God.  This  has  always 
been  recognized  by  the  best  representatives  of 
mankind.  St.  Paul  the  Apostle  has  written: 
For  the  good  which  I  would,  I  do  not;  hut  the 
evil  which  I  ivould  not,  that  I  practice.  For  I 
delight  in  the  law  of  God  after  the  inward 
man;  hut  I  see  a  different  law  in  my  members, 
warring  against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and 
hringing  me  into  captivity  under  the  laiv  of 
sin.  (Rom.  vii.  19,  22,  23.*)  The  philosopher 
Seneca,  who  lived  in  the  same  age,  asks,  "  What 
does  it  mean?  for  when  we  desire  one  thing,  we 
are  drawn  by  a  something  to  another."    Another 


NECESSITY   FOR   DIVINE   RSyELATION.  29 

learned  pagan,  Ovidius,  of  the  same  century, 
has  written:  "We  always  strive  after  that  which 
is  forbidden,  desiring  the  prohibited.  I  see  and 
vahie  the  better,  but  I  follow  the  worse."  Thus, 
as  there  is  a  God,  it  is  beyond  doubt,  also,  that 
His  revelation  and  help  to  man,  in  regard  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  Pivine,  and  in  striving 
to  please  God,  is  necessary,  and  we  have  strong 
reasons  to  show  that,  of  all  religions,  the  Chris- 
tian belief  is  the  only  one  true  faith,  established 
by  God  Himself  for  the  salvation  of  people;  and 
the  Christian  may  say  with  the  holy  apostle 
Paul,  I  thank  my  God  by  Jesus  Christ;  the 
law  of  the  spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  has 
liberated  me  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death. 
(Rom.  vii.  25;  viii.  2.) 

What  are  the  proofs  for  the  Divine  character 
of  the  Christian  religion?  They  are  of  two 
kinds.  Some  are  contained  in  the  investigation 
of  the  qualities  of  the  Christian  religion.  The 
Christian  doctrine  is  the  purest  and  most  ele- 
vated in  comparison  with  the  teachings  of  other 
beliefs.  In  other  religions  the  ideas  of  God,  and 
His  attributes,  and  His  relations  to  the  world, 
are  not  consistent  with  sound  reason,  while 
Christians  believe  in  the  Lord  God  as  the  most 
supreme   Spirit,  with  a  nature  which  is  most 


30         PREACHING   IN   THE    RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

perfect,  eternal,  everywhere  present,  most  wise, 
all-knowing,  all-powerful,  most  good,  all-holy, 
all-just,  most  blessed.  Although  there  are  mys- 
teries in  the  Christian  faith,  such  as  are  the  two 
principal  ones,  namely,  the  trinity  of  persons  in 
One,  of  the  same  Godhead,  and  the  incarnation 
of  the  Son  of  God,  which  are  in  most  part  incom- 
prehensible to  the  mind;  of  course  it  is  natural, 
as  God  in  His  substance  is  incomprehensible; 
yet  they  do  not  contain,  in  themselves,  anything 
which  is  contrary  to  sound  reason,  but  have 
sides  that  our  mind  understands.  The  Christian 
doctrine  of  the  future  life  and  the  resurrection 
is  also  pure  and  elevated. 

The  moral  law  of  the  Christian  religion  is  so 
perfect  and  exalted,  that  nothing  more  could  be 
added  to  it.  In  regard  to  God,  the  law  of  Christ 
commands  a  filial  love,  which  may  prompt  even 
the  self-sacrifice  of  one's  life  for  the  glory  of 
God,  if  needs  be.  Jesus  Christ  has  given  us  a 
commandment,  by  which  we  are  obliged  to  have 
a  complete  love  toward  our  neighbor :  Love  your 
enemies^  bless  those  who  curse  you^  and  proy 
for  those  ivho  do  lorong  to  you  and  persecute 
you,  that  you  may  he  the  children  of  your 
heavenly  Father.  (Matt.  v.  44,  45.)  This  is 
my  commandment,  that  you  love  one  another, 


NECESSITY    FOR   DIVINE   REVELATION.  31 

as  I  have  loved  you,  (John  xv.  2.)  And  Christ 
died  for  people,  when  they  were  sinners,  —  ene- 
mies of  God.  Finally,  in  regard  to  themselves, 
the  law  of  Christ  teaches  that  Christians  must 
be  humble,  patient,  self-sacrificing. 

Still,  the  proof  of  the  truth  of  religion  because 
of  its  elevated  teaching  about  God  and  the  future 
life,  and  because  of  the  purity  of  its  moral  law,  is 
not  yet  the  final  decision,  because  even  the  most 
exalted  teaching  may  be  taken  as  the  invention 
of  man. 

The  most  certain  and  definite  proofs  of  the 
Divine  character  of  a  faith  are  the  immediate 
testimonies  of  God  Himself  that  the  belief  is 
true.  The  testimonies,  therefore,  must  be  reve- 
lations of  a  supernatural  order,  such  as  the 
manifestation  of  the  Deity,  prophecies,  and  gen- 
uine miracles.  When  God  Himself  appears  to 
mankind,  saying  that  this  faith  is  the  true  one, 
or  tests  its  truth  by  miracles,  then,  of  course,  we 
may  not  doubt  it. 

But,  in  other  pagan  religions,  there  have  been, 
and  yet  may  be,  revelations,  prophecies,  and  mir- 
acles worked  by  evil  spirits;  therefore  the  reve- 
lations of  God,  prophecies  and  miracles  also, 
may  not  be,  as  it  appears,  sure  proofs.  In  this 
instance,  attention  must  be  given  to  the  power, 
and  majesty,  and  character  of  the  miracles. 


62         PREACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

Not  being  able  to  deny  the  miracles  of  Christ, 
the  Pharisees  —  His  enemies  —  said  that  He 
worked  miracles,  and  even  cast  out  devils,  by 
the  power  of  a  higher  evil  spirit.  But  the  Lord 
answered  them,  that  the  kingdom  which  is 
divided  in  itself  cannot  stand.  He  cast  out  thou- 
sands, or  legions,  of  demons  at  once.  Moreover, 
He  worked  such  miracles  which  could  not  be 
performed  by  evil  spirits. 

When  he  gave  sight  to  him  that  was  born 
blind,  the  Jews,  quarreling  among  themselves, 
said:  Can  the  Devil  open  the  eyes  of  the  blind  ? 
(John  X.  21.)  Some  of  the  Pharisees  themselves 
said:  A  sinful  man  cannot  work  such  miraclps. 

Finally,  the  Lord  resurrected  the  dead,  and 
He  Himself  rose  from  the  dead  and  ascended 
into  heaven. 

Secondly,  where  the  evil  spirits  act,  there  the 
teaching  concerning  God  is  impure,  for  it  is 
polytheism  (like  the  pagans  have)  or  pantheism, 
and  the  moral  teaching  is  defective. 

The  evil  spirits  have  succeeded  in  bringing 
people  to  deify  sins  and  passions.  The  ancient 
nations  had  gods  of  wine,  adultery,  theft,  and 
other  hideous  things.  Therefore,  two  kinds  of 
witnesses  together  are  necessary;  a  faith  is  true. 
Divinely  revealed,  which,  in  the  first  place,  is 


THE   NECESSITY   FOR   DIVINE   REVELATION.    33 

holy,  pure,  and  exalted,  and  opposed  to  evil 
spirits,  and  which,  secondly,  is  proved  by  reve- 
lations and  miracles,  and  by  miracles  noted  for 
their  great  power,  and  of  which  there  are  none 
in  other  religions;  moreover,  such  ones  which 
put  the  evil  spirits  to  shame,  being  driven  out  of 
places  in  which  they  have  ruled. 

But,  as  miracles  chiefly  demonstrate  the  truth- 
fulness of  a  faith,  as  they  serve  as  witnesses  for 
God  Himself,  and  as  unbelievers  use  all  means 
to  overthrow  them,  it  is  necessary,  therefore,  to 
set  our  attention  upon  them  as  proofs  of  the 
Divine  character  of  the  Christian  religion. 

In  regards  to  Divine  testimonies  or  miracles, 
no  religion  on  earth  may  compare  with  Chris- 
tianity. Miracles,  witnessing  to  the  heavenly 
origin  of  the  Christian  faith,  come  from  the 
very  beginning  of  the  human  race  down  to  our 
time. 

During  5,500  years  —  the  time  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament—  mankind  has  been  preparing — being 
educated  through  supernatural  revelations  and 
miracles — to  receive  the  Divine  Organizer  of 
our  faith.  Time  will  not  permit  to  numerate 
the  miracles  of  ancient  times.  Just  now  we 
regret  that  we  cannot  give,  as  we  should,  special 
attention  to  the  great  number  of  Old  Testament 


34         PEEACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHUECH. 

prophecies  concerning  Jesus  Christ,  as  applying 
directly  to  His  person.  The  miracles  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  He  worked  Himself, 
have  been  explained  to  you  on  many  occasions, 
and  in  the  future,  no  doubt,  they  will  continue 
to  be  a  live  source  for  exhaustless  themes  of 
instruction. 

We  hope  to  be  granted  the  privilege  to  explain 
for  you,  in  a  short  while,  other  proofs,  demon- 
strating the  truthfulness  of  the  gospels,  and 
finally,  with  God's  help,  we  will  consider  Ortho- 
doxy as  a  sacred  distinction  in  the  midst  of  many 
Christian  professions. 

There  are  such  people  among  Christians  who 
are  ashamed  of  miracles.  Such  Christians  are 
ashamed  of  and  deny  Christ  Himself;  and  He 
Himself  will  renounce  them  before  His  heavenly 
Father.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  during  His  life 
on  earth,  has  often  pointed  to  miracles  as  to 
clear  and  definite  proofs  of  His  Divine  mission. 

While  John  the  Baptist  was  confined  in 
prison,  he  sent  two  of  his  disciples,  for  their  as 
well  as  our  benefit,  to  question  Jesus :  Art  thou 
He  that  cometh,  or  look  we  for  another?  And 
Jesus  answered  them,  Go  and  tell  John  the 
things  which  ye  do  hear  and  see:  the  blind 
receive  their  sight,   and    the   lame  walk,   the 


NECESSITY   Foil   DIVINE   KEVELATION.  35 

.  lepers  are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf  Jiear,  and 
the  dead  are  raised  iip^  and  the  poor  have 
good  tidings  preached  to  them;  and  blessed 
is  he,  whosoever  shall  find  none  occasion  for 
stumbling  in  me.     (Matt.  xi.  2,  3,  4,  5,  6.) 

At  another  time  he  said  to  the  Jews,  who 
believed  not  in  him,  but  among  whom  there 
were  many  who  recognized  John  the  Baptist  as 
a  saint:  I  have  witness  which  is  greater  than 
John''s;  the  works  which  the  Father  hath  given 
me  to  fulfill,  these  same  works  ivhich  I  do,  bear 
witness  of  me,  that  I  was  sent  by  the  Father. 
(John  V.  36;  x.  38.) 

St.  John,  the  Forerunner  of  Christ,  was  not 
granted  the  power  to  work  miracles,  no  doubt 
because  the  light  of  Christ  must  shine  for  a 
dark  world  the  clearer  of  itself. 

Many,  says  St.  John  the  Apostle,  caine  to 
Jesus  and  said,  that  John  hath  done  no  miracle. 
(John  X.  41.) 

Of  His  followers  our  Lord  said,  in  the  last 
conversation  with  His  disciples:  Believe  me 
that  I  am  in  the  Father.,  and  the  Father  in 
me:  or  else  believe  me  for  the  sake  of  the  very 
works.  Verily.,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  thai 
believeth  on  me,  the  works  that  I  do  shall  he 
do  (dsoj  and  greater  ivorks  than  these  shall 


36         PREACHING  IN  THE   CUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

he  do:  because  I  go  unio  the  Father.  (John 
xiv.  11,  12.) 

And  before  His  ascension  into  the  heavens  He 
said  to  the  apostles:  These  signs  shall  follow 
them  that  believe:  in  my  name  shall  they  cast 
Old  devils;  they  shall  speak  with  new  tongues; 
they  shall  take  up  serpents,  and  if  they  drink 
any  deadly  thing,  it  shall  in  no  wise  hurt  them; 
they  shall  lay  hands  on  the  sick,  and  they  shall 
recover.     (Mark  xvi.  17,  18.) 

O  Lord !  we  are  unworthy  that  Thy  wonderful 
powers  be  made  manifest  upon  us,  as  they  have 
been  and  still  do  exhibit  themselves  through 
Thy  saintly  followers.  Increase  our  faith  in 
Thy  works,  which  Thou  hast  performed  for  our 
salvation,  and  in  the  miracles  of  Thy  saints. 
Set  us  aright,  O  Lord !  and  save  us.     Amen. 


THE  AUTHENTICITY  AND  TRUTHFUL- 
NESS OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

AS  YOU  are  aware,  we  have  the  gospel  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  the  four  books 
of  the  holy  evangelists :  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke, 
and  John.  Whole  libraries  of  books  sprung 
up,  as  it  were,  from  under  the  pens  of  the  most 
eminent  scholars  of  the  world  in  defense  of  the 
authenticity  of  our  accepted  gospel.  Volume 
upon  volume  may,  and  in  fact  are,  still  being 
written,  in  proof  of  the  truthfulness  of  the  expo- 
sition we  have  of  the  work  and  teaching  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  laid  down  in  the  gospel. 
Even  the  heathen  with  their  dark  histories  and 
mysterious  traditions  have  contributed  to  ex- 
plain from  more  than  one  side  the  hope  of  the 
nations,  the  glory  of  Israel,  the  light  of  the 
world.  If  you  are  truly  educated  and  take  inter- 
est in  this  special  line  of  study,  you  can  freely 
make  these  investigations  for  yourself. 

Unfortunately  some  who  are  affected  with  un- 
belief undertake  the  investigation  of  the  gospel. 


38  PREACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

and  the  narratives  about  the  miracles  of  Jesus 
Christ,  with  the  express  purpose,  not  of  learn-, 
ing  the  truth,  but  in  order  to  denounce  them. 
These  few  persons,  (whose  minds  in  every  case 
were  not  intended  by  nature  to  be  critical)  are 
predetermined  and  have  their  minds  previously 
biased  with  a  false  philosophy,  so  that,  accord- 
ing to  their  fixed  logic,  there  can  be  no  miracles; 
therefore  they  must  be  overturned  by  all  pos- 
sible means,  and  they  have  used  everything 
within  reach  of  their  power  against  them,  but 
they  could  gain  no  results. 

Some  of  the  unbelievers  in  miracles  acknowl- 
edge that  the  gospels  were  written  by  the  apostles 
themselves,  or  from  the  words  of  the  apostles,  as 
the  church  believes,  while  others  contend  that 
the  gospels,  although  they  bear  up  the  names  of 
the  apostles  and  their  disciples,  were  not  written 
by  themselves,  but  by  others,  who  lived  later. 

If  the  apostles  themselves  have  written  the 
gospels  and  described  the  miracles  of  Jesus 
Christ,  then  the  unbelievers  may  yet  have  these 
two  explanations  for  doing  away  with  miracles. 
First — the  apostles  have  agreed  among  them- 
selves to  preach  and  to  write  falsehood.  But  it 
cannot  be  possible  that  the  apostles  should  alone 
agree  to  do  such  a  thing,  because  many  Chris- 


THE   AUTHENTICITY   OF   THE   GOSPEL.  39 

tians  who  lived  in  their  time  would  also  have 
to  acknowledge  and  preach  the  untruth.  They 
could  not  attempt  such  a  daring  falsity,  because 
they  would  be  accused  by  the  contemporaries  of 
Jesus  Christ;  and  why  should  they  agree  to  such 
a  thing,  when — for  their  i^reaching  Christ — 
nothing  else  but  sorrow  awaited  them  on  earth? 
Besides  this  God  would  punish  them  in  the 
future  life  for  the  falsehood — especially  in  such 
an  important  matter.  If  we  only  in  this  life 
hope  in  Christ,  then  we  are  the  most  unfortu- 
nate of  all  people — thus  writes  St.  Paul  the 
Apostle  to  the  Corinthians  (1  Cor.  xv:  15.  19). 
Secondly — some  other  unbelievers  contended 
that  the  apostles  did  not  understand  the  works 
of  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  which  was  not  miracu- 
lous, but  natural,  yet  remarkable,  in  the  life  of 
Christ,  they  received  as  the  miraculous.  Never- 
theless, the  healing  of  the  blind,  the  deaf,  the 
lame  and  other  incurables,  even  at  an  invisible 
distance,  only  by  a  word;  the  changing  of  the 
water  into  wine,  the  walking  upon  the  sea,  the 
feeding  of  five  thousand  people  with  five  loaves, 
the  raising  of  the  dead.  His  own  resurrection, 
and  the  ascension  into  heaven — these  are  such 
deeds,  which  nohow  can  be  explained  in  a  natu- 
ral way,  and  is  it  impossible  to  be  mistaken  in 


40         PREACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

such  like  miracles.  This  "mistaken  explana- 
tion" has  been  cast  aside  by  the  unbelievers 
themselves. 

What  has  been  mentioned  thus  far  is  not  itself 
the  defense  of  the  Gospel,  for  you  must  under- 
stand that  no  human  fortifications  are  necessary 
to  the  Divine  Truth  of  the  Almighty.  We  have 
been  simply  reminded  that  proofs  of  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  gospel  do  exist,  and  that  they  are 
the  expression  of  human  thought  and  energy  in 
man's  effort  to  collect  his  fellow  beings  and  be 
at  one  with  Christ  and  God.  Although  the 
Almighty  mcikeih  His  angels  spirits^  and  His 
servants  a  fiery  flame ^  yet  for  our  benefit  in 
His  love  He  rewards  our  efforts  with  His  assist- 
ance, and  bestows  our  outreaching  arm  with 
the  sanctity  of  Divine  authority.  It  is  in  this 
way  that  we  have  a  most  sure  defense  for  Divine 
things  in  our  human  arguments — when  they  are 
set  forth  with  love  for  the  salvation  of  our 
neighbor. 

The  proofs  of  the  truthfulness  of  the  Gospel 
are  these:  1.  The  large  number  of  foretypes  in 
the  Old  Testament,  and  the  prophecies  of  the 
Patriarchs  and  Prophets  during  5000  years  be- 
fore the  birth  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  both  of 
which  are  so  distinct  and  connected  with  his- 


THE   AUTHENTICITY   OF   THE   GOSPEL.  41 

torical  facts  well  known  to  the  whole  world. 
These  apply  directly  to  the  person  of  Jesus 
Christ  the  Messiah  and  also  to  our  times,  i.  e. 
of  the  New  Testament.  A  careful  examination 
of  the  proofs  under  this  single  head  is  sufficient 
to  convince  a  sincere  seeker  of  the  truth  to  em- 
brace the  gospel  and  become  a  Christian. 

2.  Second  come  the  testimonies  contained  in 
all  the  books  of  the  New  Testament.  Besides 
the  four  Evangelists  there  were  others  who 
labored  in  putting  the  Word  of  God  into  writ- 
ing; namely,  the  Apostles  Sts.  James,  Peter, 
Jude  and  Paul.  The  harmony  throughout  these 
Scriptures  is  indeed  marvelous.  It  is  the  prac- 
ticed reader  alone  who  knows  how  to  appreciate 
the  beauty  of  God's  power  operating  in  so  many 
different  characters,  at  different  places,  in  dif- 
ferent times  and  under  different  circumstances. 

3.  This  proof  of  the  truthfulness  of  the  gospel 
is  that  influence,  which  only  a  subjective 
analysis  of  the  individual  life  can  disclose. 
You  hear  it  in  church  in  the  hymns  sung  by 
the  choir.  Sometimes  children  see  it  in  the  face 
of  their  parents  and  feel  it  in  the  presence  of 
their  teachers.  The  penitent  criminal  speaks  of 
it  within  the  walls  of  a  prison.  The  Christian 
soldier   glories   in   it   while   he  falls   bleeding. 


42         PEEACHING  IN  THE   RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

Sometimes  the  ruler  obeys  its  influence.  The 
mechanic,  the  merchant  likewise  pass  by  its 
way.  The  poor  widow  puts  her  trust  in  it  when 
she  reads  the  Bible  while  surrounded  by  her 
hungry  children.  The  dying  sleep  reposing  in 
the  gospel  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

4.  Another  proof  in  defense  of  our  subject  is 
the  history  of  the  world.  The  history  of  each 
civilized  nation,  every  legal  tribunal  of  justice, 
all  of  the  renowned  universities  of  the  earth,  all 
of  the  societies  and  communities  which  have  a 
strong  hope  for  ultimate  moral  progress,  the 
present  condition  of  the  family,  the  advance- 
ment of  womanhood,  the  fine  critical  arguments 
of  the  politician,  the  pride  of  universal  litera- 
ture, the  axiom  of  science,  the  investigation  of 
the  past,  the  examination  of  the  present,  the 
cheerful  hopefulness  of  the  serious  and  busy 
foundation  builders  of  the  future,  even  the  glory 
of  music  and  art,  in  all  this  we  see  traces  of  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Moreover  it  is  acknowl- 
edged by  the  world,  as  plain  as  black  and  white, 
that  the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament  is  be- 
coming rapidly  more  and  more  the  inseparable 
companion  to  sober,  thinking  mankind.  Thus 
we  have  a  real  objective  evidence,  moulding 
history  before  our  very  eyes,  to  the  proof  of  the 


THE  AUTHENTICITY   OF   THE   GOSPEL  43 

truthfulness  of  the  Gospel.  Long  hours  of  dis- 
cussion might  be  devoted  to  each  one  of  these 
four  witnesses  of  the  Gospel  separately.  But 
you  cannot  bear  with  them.  If  I  should  under- 
take the  gigantic  task  I  would  not  be  able  to 
finish  it. 

5.  There  is  yet  a  fifth  argument  in  favor  of 
Christians.  Although  the  last,  it  is  by  no  means 
the  least  of  them.  This  division  contains  the 
testimony  of  eye-witnesses  and  their  corre- 
spondence with  contemporaries,  and  other  lit- 
erary monuments  of  the  first  centuries  of  our 
era.  Upon  such  important  evidence  we  shall 
dwell  now  for  a  few  moments. 

In  the  libraries  of  Europe,  as  well  as  in  the 
libraries  of  the  Eastern  churches,  such  as  Con- 
stantinople, Jerusalem,  Antioch,  Alexandria, 
Syria,  Egypt,  Georgia,  Armenia,  Mt.  Athos, 
Servia,  and  also  Russia,  not  a  few  of  the  manu- 
script gospels  of  ancient  times  have  been  pre- 
served to  our  day.  Some  of  them  belong  to  the 
fourth  century  (i.  e.  They  are  almost  1600  years 
old).  They  are  the  same  gospel  that  we  have 
to-day.  They  describe  the  same  miracles  that 
we  know  of,  and  as  our  sacred  scriptures  have 
been  coj)ied  from  these  books,  so  have  they  been 
in  turn  copied  from  books  which  were  carefully 


44         PKEACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHUECH. 

and  even  jealously  guarded — as  we  learn  from 
immutable  history — of  the  third,  then  of  the 
second  century,  and  the  original  books  of  the 
holy  Apostles  and  their  celebrated  companions. 
The  works  of  the  renowned  and  learned  Origen, 
who  wrote  his  commentaries  on  the  gospels  of 
Matthew,  Luke  and  John  in  the  third  century, 
and  in  which  the  text  of  the  same  gospels  is 
almost  completely  contained.  Origen  flourished 
in  the  first  half  of  the  third  century,  and  be- 
sides this  we  have  the  writings  of  many  fathers 
of  the  church  and  other  Christian  workers  be- 
longing to  the  third  century,  which  contain  a 
great  many  quotations  from  the  gospels  that 
agree  with  ours,  and  concerning  the  miracles  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Therefore  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  our  Gospel  is  the  same  which  was  read  in 
the  third  century. 

The  same  must  be  said  of  the  second  half  of 
the  second  century,  after  the  birth  of  Christ. 
We  have  such  works  and  publications  of  fathers 
and  Christian  writers  belonging  to  this  period, 
in  which  we  find  many  places  of  the  gospels. 
We  will  point  to  the  ten  books  against  heresy, 
which  belong  to  the  reverend  martyr  Irenaeus, 
the  Bishop  of  Lyons.  These  books  were  written 
150  years  after  the  ascension  of  our  Lord,  and 


THE   AUTHENTICITY   OF    THE   GOSPEL.  45 

the  unbelievers  themselves  do  not  doubt  that 
Irenaeus  is  the  author  of  them.  In  these  books 
there  are  400  quotations  taken  from  the  four  gos- 
pels, and  they  come  in  the  same  order  in  which  we 
read  them  to-day.  The  texts  mentioned  refer  to 
the  same  miracles  of  Jesus  Christ.  There  are 
80  quotations  taken  from  the  gospel  of  St.  John. 
St.  Irenaeus  speaks  of  the  evangelists  by  name, 
and  he  gives  historical  information  in  regard  to 
the  gospels,  which  they  have  written.  He  af- 
firms that  the  church,  which  was  spread  widely 
in  his  time,  held  no  more  nor  less  than  the  four 
gospels,  as  there  are  four  sides  of  the  earth,  four 
winds,  as  the  Lord  appeared  to  the  prophet 
Hezekiel,  sitting  upon  four  cherubim.  Many 
places  from  the  gospels  are  mentioned  also  by 
contemporary  writers,  such  as  Tertulianus, 
Clement,  of  Alexandria,  and  others,  so  that,  upon 
this  literature,  which  has  come  down  to  us  from 
these  Christian  men  of  the  second  half  of  the 
second  century,  and  which  belongs  to  them 
without  a  doubt,  the  contents  of  the  four 
gospels  known  to  us  could  be  restored.  It  is 
acknowledged  by  students  that  in  the  last  half  of 
the  second  century  there  has  been  a  translation 
into  the  Syrian  from  the  Greek  language,  not 
only  of  the  four  gospels,  but  also  of  other  books 
fo  the  New  Testament  known  to  us. 


46         PREACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

We  have  positive  witness  in  the  writings  of 
the  disciples  of  the  apostles  or  their  contempo- 
raries, who  decidedly  ascribe  the  gospels  to  the 
authorship  (of  course  from  the  human  side)  of 
the  apostles,  or  to  the  disciples  of  the  apostles, 
as  is  recognized  by  the  whole  church. 

The  first  witness  is  St.  Poly  carp,  the  reverend 
martyr,  a  disciple  of  St.  John  the  Divine,  and 
other  apostles.  He  was  Bishop  of  Smyrna  in 
Asia.  An  epistle  of  St.  Polycarp  to  the  Philip- 
pians  has  been  handed  down  to  our  day.  In  it 
he  says:  "Any  one  who  does  not  confess  that 
Jesus  Christ  came  in  the  flesh,  he  is  antichrist. 
In  the  epistle  of  John  the  apostle  and  evange- 
list it  is  said:  Every  spirit  which  confesseth 
not  Jesus  Christ  as  having  come  in  the  fleshy 
the  same  is  not  of  God,  and  the  same  is  anti- 
christ.'' Thus,  in  the  first  place,  this  disciple 
of  St.  John  the  Divine  speaks  of  him  as  the 
evangelist,  consequently  John  has  written  the 
gospel;  and,  secondly,  to  quote  literally  from 
the  first  general  epistle  of  St.  John,  while  this 
epistle  is  perfectly  alike  in  style  and  thought 
with  the  fourth  gospel,  it  is  to  verify  the  apostle 
John  as  the  writer  of  this  gospel.  We  see  in 
the  writings  of  St.  Polycarp  indications  of  the 
gospel    of    Matthew  and  other   books   of    the 


THE  AUTHENTICITY   OF   THE   GOSPEL.  47 

apostles.  The  above  mentioned  epistle  of  St. 
Polycarp  to  the  Philippians  is  acknowledged  as 
originally  belonging  to  him  by  the  most  reason- 
able of  learned  investigators.  That  St.  Poly- 
carp has  written  this  epistle  to  the  Philippians, 
to  this  his  disciple  testified,  the  above  mentioned 
reverend  martyr  Irenseus,  and  it  is  difiicult  to 
conceive  how  the  genuine  epistle  of  St.  Poly- 
carp could  have  been  mutilated  or  lost  and  a 
false  one  spread  abroad  in  its  place.  The  epistle 
of  St.  Polycarp  from  the  time  since  it  was  writ- 
ten has  been  read  in  the  churches  of  Asia  at 
divine  service  during  the  first  centuries.  It  was 
read  even  in  the  fourth  century. 

Not  alone  through  his  writings,  but  by  his 
long  life  and  his  death,  which  was  that  of  a 
martyr,  does  St.  Polycarp  still  more  testify  to 
the  truth  of  the  gospel. 

By  the  act  of  God's  providence,  not  only  the 
apostle  John,  but  also  some  of  the  disciples  of 
the  apostles,  lived  a  long  life.  St.  Irenseus, 
that  great  pillar  of  the  structure  of  proofs,  point- 
ing out  the  original  gospels,  testifies  that  John 
the  Evangelist  lived  to  the  time  of  the  Emperor 
Trajan,  who  ascended  the  throne  in  98  A.  D., 
and  died  in  117,  consequently  this  apostle  either 
died  in  the  last  two  years  of  the  first,  or  in  the 


48         PREACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

beginning  of  the  second  century  after  Christ. 
This  testimony  of  St.  Irensens,  most  accurate  in 
itself,  as  he  was  the  disciple  of  Polycarp,  who 
was  a  contemporary  and  disciple  of  St.  John, 
yet  it  is  confirmed  by  many  other  ancient  wit- 
nesses, who  set  the  date  of  the  death  of  John  the 
Divine  in  the  beginning  of  the  second  century. 

The  reverend  martyr  Polycarp,  the  disciple  of 
the  apostles,  and  especially  of  St.  John,  lived  to 
be  about  110  years.  He  died  in  167  A.  D.  The 
disciple  of  Polycarp,  St.  Irenseus,  who  was 
bishop  of  Lyons,  in  the  country  now  called 
France,  was  put  to  death  for  preaching  Christ 
in  202. 

The  gospels  of  Matthew,  Mark  and  Luke 
could  not  be  false  and  appear  and  be  accepted 
by  all  the  churches  before  the  close  of  the  first 
century,  as  some  unbelievers  say,  and  likewise 
the  same  of  the  Gospel  of  John  about  the  year 
150,  because  the  immediate  disciples  of  the 
apostles  would  not  permit  an  error,  and  we 
know  that  St.  Polycarp  was  the  leader  of  all  the 
churches  in  Asia  until  his  martyrdom  in  167. 
It  was  about  160  A.  D.  when  Polycarp  went  to 
Kome,  during  the  time  of  Bishop  Anecetas,  on 
account  of  a  dispute  concerning  the  time  of 
celebrating  Easter  (or  the  resurrection  of  our 


THE   AUTHENTICITY   OF   THE   GOSPEL.  49 

Lord),  and  therefore  he  knew  the  condition  of 
the  churches  of  the  west,  as  well  as  of  the  east. 
If  a  difference  of  time  in  celebrating  Easter 
Sunday  was  the  cause  of  such  a  warm  dispute, 
then  what  severe  quarrels  would  take  place  if 
some  of  the  churches  had  perchance  accepted 
false  gospels. 

Yet  there  is  not  in  all  the  works  of  the  fathers 
and  the  writers  of  the  second  and  following 
centuries  so  much  as  the  hint  of  a  doubt  in 
the  christian  churches,  each  independent  of  the 
other,  concerning  the  authenticity  and  correct- 
ness of  the  four  gospels.  The  disciple  of  Polycarp, 
St.  Irenseus,  who  had  our  four  gospels,  was  also 
acquainted  with  the  condition  of  the  churches 
of  both  the  east  and  west;  for  in  the  east  he  was 
educated,  and  in  the  west  he  died  a  bishop.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  both  men,  St.  Poly- 
carp and  St.  Irengeus,  ended  their  life  by  a 
martyr's  death  for  preaching  Jesus  Christ  as 
the  Son  of  God  and  the  Savior  of  the  world.  St. 
Polycarp  decided  to  be  burned  upon  a  pile 
rather  than  to  renounce  Christ. 

We  repeat  that  St.  John  the  Divine  had  other 
disciples,  but  who  of  course  did  not  live  so  long 
as  Polycarp.  Nevertheless  they  could  have  pre- 
vented during  the  first  half  of  the  second  cen- 


50         PBEACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

tury  the  spreading  of  any  gospels  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  His  miracles,  which  might  not  have 
agreed  with  the  teachings  of  the  apostles,  and 
particularly  of  St.  John,  with  whom  they  have 
been  in  close  relations.  History  has  deposited 
for  our  sake  a  considerable  portion  of  a  letter 
written  by  St.  Irenaeus  to  his  friend,  one 
Florinus,  in  which  he  says  of  a  certain  heresy: 
"Thou  has  not  been  taught  thus  by  the 
Presbyters  who  preceded  us,  and  who  listened 
to  the  apostles  personally."  From  this  we  may 
conclude  that  Irenseus  and  his  contemporaries 
have  in  their  youth  studied  not  alone  by  St. 
Polycarp,  but  also  by  other  disciples  of  the 
apostles. 

We  may  add  more  facts  in  connection  with  the 
testimony  of  Irenseus.  He  was  a  co-laborer 
with  and  in  the  episcopate  a  successor  of  the 
revered  martyr  Pothinus,  the  Bishop  of  Lyons, 
in  the  country  of  the  Gauls,  the  present  Franc^. 

Who  was  St.  Pothinus  ?  According  to  a  most 
ancient  tradition  of  the  Church  of  Lyons,  he 
was  a  native  of  Asia,  a  disciple  of  Polycarp,  and 
even  of  the  apostles  themselves.  In  the  first 
half  of  the  second  century  he  came  to  Lyons 
and  organized  a  church,  for  which  he  was  or- 
dained a  bishop.    Fifteen  years  after  his  arrival 


THE   AUTHENTICITY   OF   THE   GOSrEL.  51 

in  Lyons,  upon  his  request  there  were  sent 
to  his  assistance  several  men  from  the  east,  who 
were  qualified  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  among 
whom  was  the  learned  St.  Irenseus.  St.  Irenaeus 
became  a  presbyter  in  Lyons.  In  177  St. 
Pothinus  died  in  prison  during  a  persecution  of 
the  christians.  The  year  of  his  death,  177  A.  D., 
and  his  age  are  clearly  certified.  In  the  accounts 
of  this  age  of  martyrs,  recorded  by  an  eye- 
witness and  preserved  in  the  history  of  Euse- 
bius,  it  is  said  of  him  that  he  was  more  that  90 
years  old  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Therefore 
they  concluded  that  he  was  born  in  86  A.  D.,  and 
he  could  have  seen  the  apostle  John.  There  is 
no  doubt  whatever  that  he  was  a  contemporary, 
not  only  of  St.  Polycarp,  but  also  of  many  other 
apostolic  men,  who  were  disciples  of  St.  John 
the  Divine. 

He  could  have  known  men  who  have  seen 
other  apostles,  that  died  earlier  than  St.  John, 
and  who  labored  in  preaching  the  Gospel  in 
Asia,  for  instance  :  St.  Philip  one  of  the  twelve, 
who  suffered  in  Hieropolis  during  the  time  of 
the  Emperor  Domitian  (81-96)  .Thus,  Ireneeus 
could  have  received  in  Lyons  likewise — of  St. 
Pothinus,  who  was  much  older  than  him  in  age 
— accurate  information  concerning  the  eastern 


52         PEEACHING  IN  THE   RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

apostolic  churclies,  also  of  the  holy  gospels,  and 
especially  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John. 

Another  witness,  like  St.  Polycarp,  of  the 
truthfulness  of  the  Gospel  is  Papius,  the  Bishop 
of  Hieropolis.  He  is  known  as  the  disciple  of 
the  disciples  of  the  Lord.  He  died  about  the 
year  120,  earlier  than  Polycarp.  In  his  work 
known  as  the  Five  Books  of  Explanaiions  of 
the  Words  of  the  Lord,^  part  of  which  are 
quoted  by  Eusebius,  the  historian,  he  says — on 
the  testimony  of  the  apostles  of  Jesus  Christ — 
that  the  evangelist  Matthew  has  written  the 
words  of  the  Lord  in  the  Hebrew  language,  and 
Mark  has  written  from  the  dictation  of  the 
apostle  Peter  of  what  the  Lord  did  and  taught. 

Later  on  another  portion  of  the  writings  of 
Papius  has  been  discovered,  which  proves  that 
he  was  acquainted  with  the  Gospel  of  John. 
Besides  this,  the  historian  Eusebius,  who  had 
read  the  writings  of  Papius,  affirms  that  Papius 
took  as  testimony,  words  from  the  first  epistle 
of  John  the  Divine  ;  and  as  this  epistle  in  word 
and  thought  is  exactly  the  same  as  the  gospel 
of  John,  it  verifies  the  fact  that  John  was  the 
writer  of  the  gospel. 


*These  original  documents  have  been  ciscovered  in 
Mossoul.  The  Patriarch  of  Antioch  has  recently  brought 
them  to  Paris. 


THE   AUTHENTICITY   OF   THE   GOSPEL.  53 

A  contemporary  of  Poly  carp  and  other  apos- 
tolic men  was  St.  Justin,  the  martyr  and  phil- 
ospher ;  he  was  profoundly  educated  and  had 
written  many  works,  but  many  of  which,  un- 
fortunately, have  not  reached  us.  Two  of  his 
works  have  come  down  to  us  ;  they  are  apologies 
in  defense  of  persecuted  christians,  one  of 
w^hich  was  handed  to  the  Koman  Emperor 
Antoninus  Pius  about  150  A.  D.,  the  other  after 
some  time  was  presented  to  the  senate  of  Rome. 
The  martyr  Justin  has  also  put  to  writing  his 
dialogue  with  the  learned  Jew  Triphonus  in 
defense  of  Christianity.  What  is  important  for 
us  is  the  fact  that  the  unbelievers  could  find 
nothing  to  say  against  the  authenticity  of  the 
writings  of  St.  Justin,  the  philosopher,  and  also 
the  fact  that  he  quotes  many  places  from  the 
gospels  known  to  us ;  from  the  gospel  of 
Matthew,  beginning  from  the  first  chapter  up 
to  the  last,  there  are  fifty  quotations  ;  from  the 
gospel  of  Luke,  about  twenty  ;  from  the  gospel 
of  John,  more  than  fifteen  places,  and  he  also 
makes  mention  of  another  gospel  (i.  e.  of  Mark.) 
He  gives  the  proper  name  of  evangelia  to  the 
gospel,  and  also  mentions  them  as  the  remem- 
brances or  memory  notes  of  the  apostles  and 
their  companions. 


54         PEEACHING  IN  THE  KUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

To  return  again  to  witness  concerning  the 
evangelist  John,  it  is  stated  as  certain  that  he 
spent  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  Ephesus  ; 
here  he  died  and  was  buried,  as  Policratus,  the 
Bishop  of  Ephesus,  who  lived  in  the  last  part 
of  the  second  century,  writes  in  his  letters  to 
Victor,  the  Bishop  of  Borne  ;  ancient  literature 
has  saved  the  contents  of  this  letter.  Moreover 
the  Church  Universal  has  always  recognized 
this  fact. 

As  St.  Polycarp  had  for  his  disciple  the 
reverend-martyr  Irenseus,  a  great  witness  for 
the  evangelical  truth,  so  had  the  holy  martyr 
Justin  a  disciple  in  the  person  of  Tacian,  a  wit- 
ness of  the  four  gospels.  He  was  a  learned 
pagan,  who  studied  ancient  philosophy,  but  not 
having  found  the  truth,  he  turned  himself  to 
the  Christian  Church.  He  was  already  a  full 
grown  man  when  he  became  a  pupil  of  St. 
Justin  in  Bome,  after  which  he  continued  in 
close  friendship  with  him.  After  the  death  of 
Justin  he  went  to  the  east,  and  in  Syria,  unfor- 
tunately absorbed  in  meditation,  he  attached  too 
weighty  importance  to  his  own  reasoning  and 
fell  in  heresy.  He  died  about  175  A.  D.  Of 
his  many  works  there  came  down  to  us  but  one 
oration,  which  is  lengthy,  and  it  is  against  the 


THE   AUTHENTICIRY   OF   THE   GOSPEL.  55 

Hellenes  or  pagans,  in  defense  of  Christianity. 

What  is  especially  important,  Tacian  compiled 
a  summary  on  the  ground  of  the  four  gospels, 
and  which  he  briefly  named  Of  the  Four  (Dia- 
tessaron).  As  this  gospel  was  compiled  liter- 
ally according  to  the  four  gospels  accepted  by 
the  church,  it  was  in  use  among  a  considerable 
portion  of  orthodox  christians  in  the  east  for  a 
long  time  for  its  briefness,  and  also  for  less 
difficult  labor  in  copying,  it  was  preferred  to  the 
complete  four  gospels.  Theodoretos,  the  Bishop 
of  Cyra,  during  the  first  part  of  the  fifth 
century  found  more  than  200  copies  of  this 
gospel  in  his  diocese.  He  found  nothing  in 
them  which  did  not  agree  with  the  universally 
accepted  gospels,  only  that  Tacian  has  omitted 
the  geneology  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  account 
of  his  birth  according  to  the  flesh  from  the  seed 
of  David.  In  its  place  Theodoretos  distributed 
the  original  four  gospels,  and  thereby  weakened 
the  memory  of  Tacian's  sad  case  of  heresy. 

From  all  the  above  mentioned  it  is  clear  that 
St.  Justin,  the  teacher  of  Tacian,  had  accepted 
the  original  four  gospels,  no  more  and  no  less, 
as  the  church  at  first  authorized,  including  of 
course  the  gospel  of  St.  John.  This  assertion 
is  strengthened  by  the  canon  of  New  Testament 


56         PREACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

books,  which  has  come  down  to  us,  and  which 
has  been  in  use  in  the  church  of  Kome  during 
the  time  of  St.  Justin.  This  canon  was  dis- 
covered and  published  by  the  learned  Muratori. 
The  first  part  and  the  end  have  been  lost ;  it 
commences  thus  :  "  the  third  book  is  the  gospel 
according  to  Luke."  Briefly  commenting  upon 
this  gospel,  the  writer  of  the  canon  continues  : 
"the  fourth  of  the  gospels  is  John's,  one  of  the 
disciples,"  and  briefly  telling  about  the  writing 
of  this  gospel  by  John  the  Divine,  he  goes  on, 
making  mention  of  the  book  of  the  "Acts  of  the 
Apostles,"  written  by  the  holy  evangelist  Luke. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  first  two  gospels  in 
the  Koman  church  were  those  of  Matthew  and 
Mark,  which  were  known  at  the  close  of  the 
first  century  to  the  apostolic  disciple,  Papius, 
the  Bishop  of  Hieropolis.  The  Gospel  of 
Mark  itself  was  written  by  him  on  the  request 
of  the  Eoman  christians ;  for  this  we  have  the 
testimony  of  St.  Clement  of  Alexandria,  a 
learned  man  of  the  second  century  ;  a  proof  of 
this  is  also  the  gospel  itself,  which  contains  a 
considerable  number  of  Roman  words. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  Pius  the  first,  during 
the  time  of  his  successor.  Bishop  Anecetas, 
about  160  A.  D.,  as  we  have  mentioned  before, 


THE   AUTHENTICITY   OF   THE   GOSPEL.  57 

the  aged  Polycarp,  tlie  Bishop  of  Smyrna,  a 
discii3le  of  St.  John  and  other  apostles,  came  to 
Rome  on  account  of  a  dispute  concerning  the 
time  of  celebrating  the  day  of  the  resurrection 
of  our  Lord,  which  had  arisen  between  the 
churches.  Aod,  of  course,  it  was  necessary  to 
turu  to  the  gospels  while  speaking  about  this 
subject.  If  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  undoubtedly 
held  by  the  Roman  church  at  the  time,  was  not 
authentic,  St.  Polycarp  would  surely  bring  the 
case  forward,  and  a  dispute  would  have  arisen 
concerning  this  Gospel,  or  the  Roman  church 
would  have  excluded  it  from  the  list  of  New 
Testament  books,  but  there  was  no  such  pro- 
ceeding ;  consequently,  the  gospel  of  John 
belonged  to  the  apostle  himself. 

It  must  be  taken  into  consideration  that  in 
all  the  works  of  the  apostolical  men  and  other 
writers  of  the  first  and  the  earlier  part  of  the 
second  century  there  is  expressed  a  clear  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  Son  of  God,  who  was 
incarnate  of  the  Most  Holy  Virgin  on  earth, 
who  worked  great  signs  and  miracles,  who  arose 
from  the  dead  and  ascended  into  heaven,  and  it 
is  also  clearly  shown  that  the  christians  of  this 
period  had  known  none  other  Christ,  but  Him 
who  is  revealed  in  the  Gospel. 


58         PEEACHING  IN  THE   RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

No  less  important  for  the  proof  of  our  sub- 
ject, at  least  for  these  careful  treasurers  of  the 
truth  in  the  early  centuries,  is  the  example  of 
holy  life  and  also  the  tradition  of  the  very  first 
christians,  of  whom  there  were  more  than  500 
that  had  seen  Jesus  Christ.  It  was  but  the 
tenth  day  after  our  Lord  had  ascended  into 
heaven,  and  when  He  sent  down  upon  the 
church  power  from  the  Almighty,  that  over 
three  thousand  more  were  added  to  the  fol- 
lowers of  Him,  whom  great  multitudes  of  people 
on  many  occasions  followed  when  he  walked 
upon  earth  with  his  twelve,  who  were  them- 
selves in  their  first  simplicity  rather  sceptical 
believers  of  only  the  real — which  could  be  seen 
with  the  eyes  and  felt  with  the  hands. 

I  hope  you  will  bear  cheerfully  a  moment  or 
two  longer,  while  we  bring  these  testimonies  of 
ancient  literature  to  a  close.  Yet,  I  must  admit, 
it  has  been  for  your  sakes,  that  this  subject  is 
considerably  abridged. 

About  130  A.  D.  the  holy  martyr  Codratus, 
who  was  Bishop  in  Magnesia,  was  put  to  death 
for  his  faith  in  Christ.  He  was  a  disciple  of 
the  apostles  and  a  prophet.  The  reverend- 
martyr  Codratus  is  known  for  his  writing  which 
he  handed  to  the  Roman  Emperor  Adrian  in 


THE   AUTHENTICITY   OF   THE   GOSrEL.  59 

126,  in  defense  of  the  persecuted  christians. 
Although  this  apology  has  not  reached  our 
times,  yet  it  was  read  by  Eusebius  the  historian, 
wlio  quotes  from  it  the  following :  "  The  works 
of  our  Savior  (writes  Codratus  to  the  Emperor) 
have  always  been  manifest,  because  they  Avere 
truthful.  Those  whom  He  healed  and  resur- 
rected from  the  dead  were  visible — not  only 
when  He  healed  and  resurrected  them,  but 
always.  They  lived  not  only  during  His  life 
on  earth,  but  remained  considerably  longer 
after  he  left  us  ;  some  of  them  have  lived  to  our 
day,"  i.  e.  to  the  time  between  80-90  A.  D., 
when  Codratus  was  in  the  prime  of  life. 

In  support  of  this  investigation  we  bring  for- 
ward historical  facts,  and  when  such  come  from 
heretics  or  even  unbelievers,  they  are  the  more 
valuable,  as  the  work  is  shown  thereby  to  be 
impartial,  and  the  Divine  to  be  above  the  need 
of  a  human  justification. 

Thus,  another  heretic,  Valentine  by  name, 
boasted  that  he  had  received  his  teaching  from 
Theodala,  a  disciple  of  the  apostle  Paul. 
Valentine  preached  in  Egypt  between  120-130. 
He  settled  in  Rome  about  140  A.  D.  According 
to  the  testimony  of  Irseneus  and  Tertullianus, 
writers  of   the  second  century,  Valentine  had 


60         PREACHING  IN  THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

made  use  of  the  whole  of  Sacred  Scriptures. 
In  the  book  of  St.  Irseneus  against  heresy,  not 
only  many  parts  of  the  gospels  are  mentioned, 
but  also  quotations  from  the  holy  apostle  Paul, 
which  were  perverted  by  the  unorthodox  ex- 
planations of  the  Yalentinians.  The  reverend- 
martyr  Ippolitus  ascribes  to  Valentine  these 
words  :  "all  the  prophets  and  the  law  speak 
through  Demiurgus,  the  god  of  non-reason." 
Therefore  the  Savior  saith :  "all  loho  came  before 
me,  the  same  were  thieves  and  oidlaivs.'^  Now 
this  text  is  found  only  in  the  gospel  of  St.  John. 
It  is  known  also  that  Heracleon,  a  disciple  of 
Valentine,  had  written  a  commentary  on  the 
gospel  of  John,  considerable  parts  of  which 
have  been  perserved  in  Origen's  commentary 
on  the  gospels.  Heretics  as  well  as  others, 
who  lived  in  the  second  century,  would  not 
have  accepted  of  the  church  the  gospel,  more- 
over a  false  one,  if  their  founders  and  teachers 
who  lived  in  the  time  of  the  apostlic  men,  were 
not  firmly  convinced  of  its  authenticity.  St. 
Ireneus  in  the  second  half  of  the  second 
century  wrote  thus  :  '^Our  gospels  are  strongly 
established,^^  even  heretics  become  their  witness; 
quoting  from  which  they  expect  to  uphold  their 
doctrine.     Heresy,  which  began  to  show  itself 


THE   AUTHENTICITY   OF   THE   GOSPEL.  61 

SO  early  among  christians,  was  the  cause  never- 
theless why  the  first  bishoi^s  and  other  leaders 
of  the  churches  kept  so  diligent  a  watch  over 
the  gospels  in  their  original  completeness,  and 
guarded  them  from  any  and  all  mutilation, 
which  some  of  the  heretics  attempted,  but  of 
which  they  were  accused  in  good  season. 

Only  recently,  in  a  responsible  magazine 
published  in  the  eastern  metropolis  of  America, 
October  28,  1899,  the  profoundly  learned  Pro- 
fessor AVilliam  C.  Winslow,  D.  D.,  D.  C.  L., 
L.  L.  D.  writes  :  "Among  the  papyri  discov- 
ered at  Behnesa  by  the  Egypt  Exploration 
Fund  is  a  fragment  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John, 
which  proves  to  be  of  the  highest  importance 
and  deepest  interest.  It  antedates  all  our  pre- 
viously known  texts  by  one  hundred  years  or 
more.  Our  associates  have  now  completed 
their  critical  study  of  the  text,  and  a  fac-simile 
of  it  will  appear  in  our  volume  about  ready  for 
the  press,  with  a  great  many  documents  of  the 
first  century  translated.  The  papyrus  of  the 
first  chapter  of  St.  Matthew  (A.  D.  150),  cor- 
roborating our  version  of  St.  Matthew  1:  18-21, 
and  the  Logia  (New  Sayings  of  Christ)  were  in 
book  form.  This  fragment  of  St.  John  is  also 
in  book  form. 


62         PREACHING  IN  THE  EUSSIAN  CHUECH. 

It  has  been  assumed  that  the  form  of  writing 
in  a  book  or  codex  dated  from  the  introduc- 
tion of  vellum  ;  but  the  foregoing  and  like  dis- 
coveries by  the  Fund  show  that  such  fashion 
was  in  use  for  christian  literature  of  the  earliest 
times. 

The  St.  Matthew  and  Logia  fragments  are  in 
single  leaves,  but  the  papyrus  of  St.  John  is  on 
a  sheet,  and  is  written  upon  both  sides.  More- 
over, the  first  leaf  contains  St.  John  I.,  and  the 
second  leaf  St.  John  XX.  in  part ;  so  that  we 
possess  one  of  the  outer  sheets  of  a  large  quire 
between  which  and  chapter  XX.  were  the  in- 
tervening eighteen  chapters,  now  lost.  This 
book  of  the  Gospel  contained  about  fifty  pages. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  usual  contractions 
for  theological  words  like  God,  Jesus,  Christ, 
and  Spirit  are  used.  If  such  contractions  were 
familiar  in  the  second  century,  they  must  have 
been  introduced  much  earlier.  Do  they  not 
show  the  existence  of  a  christian  literature  as 
early  as  100  A.  D.  ? 

The  text,  a  small  uncial,  resembles  that  of 
the  Codex  Sinaiticus,  to  which  variants  of  its 
own  are  added.  But  the  fac-simile  will  reveal 
this  and  other  characteristics  to  the  scholar 
who  sees  our  coming  volume,  and  the  christian 


THE   AUTHENTICITY   OF   THE   GOSPEL.  63 

public  will  be  deeply  interested  in  the  publica- 
tion of  a  text  containing  the  statement,  ^The 
Word  Was  Made  Flesh,^  which  words  were 
accepted  in  the  early  morning  of  Christianity  as 
very  truth.  Old  of  Egypt  have  I  called  my 
Son  may  be  transliterated  for  to-day:  'Out  of 
Egypt  comes  the  proofs  for  the  Bible  as  God's 
revelation  to  man.' " 

Christianity  is  not  so  much  in  danger  of  a  so- 
called  "learned  unbelief,"  as  it  is  of  the  "little 
faith"  and  practical  unbelief  in  active  life,  and 
the  spreading  of  unchristian  habits  and  cus- 
toms, and  in  danger  from  the  life  even  of 
christians,  which  is  not  according  to  the  gospel. 
Many,  Oh  many  so-called  christians  of  our 
times  are  in  need  of  having  their  hearts  renewed, 
and  deeply  impressed  with  the  words  of  the 
Savior  ^^repent  and  believe  in  the  gosj^eV 


THE  TEUE  CHUECH  OF  CHEIST  * 

WHAT  is  the  Orthodox  Church?  The 
Orthodox  Church  is  a  body  or  commu- 
nity of  people,  who,  1 — correctly  believe  in  divine 
revelation;  and  2 — who  obey  a  lawful  hierarchy 
instituted  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself, 
through  the  holy  apostles.  In  order  to  belong 
to  the  Orthodox  Church  two  principal  con- 
ditions are  required:  First — to  accurately  ac- 
cept, rightly  understand  and  truthfully  confess 
the  divine  teaching  of  faith;  and  secondly — 
to  acknowledge  the  lawful  hierarchy  or  priest- 
hood, to  receive  from  it  the  holy  mysteries  or 
sacraments,  and  generally  to  follow  its  precepts 
in  matters  concerning  salvation. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  question  concerning 
the  true  and  divine  doctrine  of  holy  faith. 

The  divine  teaching  of  our  holy  religion  is 
contained  in  the  books  of  the  holy  scriptures  of 
the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments,  and  in  holy 
Tradition.     The  principal  dogma  (these  truths), 


*Tbe  author  is  indebted  for  assistance  in  compiling  the 
purely  theological  portions  of  these  papers  to  the  works 
of  the  M.  KevDr.  Sergius,  Archbishop  of  Yladimir,Russia. 


THE  TKUE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST.       05 

i.  e.  the  sacramental  ones,  ( which  may  also  be  un- 
derstood as  the  theoretical)  are  laid  down  briefly 
in  the  "creed,"  which  commences  with  these 
words:  I  believe  in  one  God.,  the  Father^  and 
which  was  compiled  by  the  holy  fathers  of  the 
first  two  universal  councils  in  the  fourth  cen- 
tury. The  moral  truths  of  the  orthodox  faith 
are  contained  chiefly  in  the  Ten  Command- 
ments given  by  God  to  Moses  on  Mt.  Sinai 
which  were  completed  and  explained  by  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Gospel  and  especially  in 
the  Lord's  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

The  doctrine,  which  does  not  agree  with  the 
true  understanding  of  holy  scripture  and  holy 
tradition,  which  is  preserved  in  the  Orthodox 
Catholic  Church  from  the  apostles  time,  is 
termed  heresy;  translated  from  the  Greek 
language  this  word  signifies  separation.  Cer- 
tainly it  is  to  be  understood  that  such  who  sepa- 
rate or  draw  others  away  from  the  body  of  the 
church  by  false  teaching,  thereby  they  excom- 
municate themselves  from  her  fold. 

Heresy,  or  injury  to  the  teaching  of  Christ, 
has  begun  as  early  as  the  times  of  the  apostles. 
St.  Paul  wrote  to  Titus,  who  was  bishop  on  the 
island  of  Crete:  "A  man  that  is  a  heretic  after 
a  first  and  second  admonition  refuse,  knowing 
that  such  a  one  is  perverted,  and  sinneth,  being 


66         PREACHING  IN  THE  RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

self  condemned."  (Titus  iii:  10, 11).  The  holy 
apostle  Paul  has  written  to  the  Corinthian 
Christians  thus:  "For  there  must  be  also  here- 
sies among  you,  that  they  which  are  approved 
may  be  made  manifest  among  you."  1  Cor.  ix: 
19.  The  bishops,  as  the  successors  of  the 
apostles,  endeavored  from  the  earliest  times  to 
transmit  the  teaching  of  Christ,  which  they  re- 
ceived from  the  apostles  accurately.  Thus  our 
faith  was  carefully,  even  to  the  letter,  trans- 
mitted by  tradition.  It  is  plainly  understood 
how  holy  tradition  became  a  channel  by  which 
truths  were  conveyed  to  rising  generations,  as 
the  first  bishops  themselves  received  the  word 
and  also  necessary  instructions  from  the 
apostles,  not  only  in  writing,  but  also  orally; 
i.  e.  by  word,  face  to  face;  therefore  it  is  clear 
that  this  apostolic  tradition  was  in  itself  an  ex- 
planation of  the  holy  scriptures,  as  it  were — a 
supplement.  In  regard  to  holy  writ  the  bishops 
were  careful  that  no  false  books  be  counted  in 
with  the  genuine  collection,  which  was  left  by 
the  apostles,  and  also  that  the  original  writings 
of  the  apostles  themselves  be  not  injured  or 
marred  by  heretics  through  the  least  addition  or 
omission  to  the  text  of  holy  scripture.  And 
if  a  false  teacher  be  found  his  teachings  was  at 


THE  TRUE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST.       G7 

once  examined  by  the  bishops,  and  they  de- 
clared before  the  Church  universal  that  such  and 
such  a  doctrine  was  not  known  to  them,  that 
they  did  not  receive  it  from  the  apostles,  and 
that  it  did  not  agree  with  the  doctrine  of  the 
apostles.  Heresy  caused  the  gathering  of  local 
and  general  councils,  in  which  the  false  teach- 
ing was  compared  with  the  holy  scripture  and 
tradition  and  then  rejected.  In  course  of  time 
the  apostolical  tradition,  which  was  transmitted 
orally  at  first,  was  gradually,  as  the  necessities 
of  the  church  demanded,  committed  to  writing; 
and  it  is  found  in  the  works  of  the  holy  fathers 
and  teachers  of  the  first  several  centuries. 

Although  all  heretics,  whoever  they  be,  do  not 
belong  to  the  church,  yet,  judging  from  the 
character  of  their  false  teaching,  some  are  nearer 
to  her,  while  others  are  greatly  separated  from 
her,  and  therefore  the  church  receives  into  her 
communion  the  repentant  heretics  differently; 
namely — by  three  distinct  offices  during  public 
worship.  These  offices  were  formulated  in  the 
time  of  the  general  councils.  If  we  are  spared 
we  shall  in  some  future  time  explain  these  of- 
fices, and  also  what  differences  and  contradic- 
tions there  are  in  the  heresies  themselves.  Now 
we  continue  to  briefly  review  the  orthodox  faith. 


68         PREACHING  IN  THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

The  principal  dogma  of  our  religion  are  these : 
1 — The  doctrine  of  God  as  He  is  in  His  being; 
one  God  in  substance,  but  in  three  persons;  the 
trinity  consubstantial  and  undivided;  the  Father 
unoriginate;  the  Son  begotten  of  the  Father  be- 
fore all  ages;  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  proceeds 
from  the  Father.  2— The  doctrine  of  the  Son 
of  God,  as  the  Savior  of  the  human  race;  the 
second  person  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity,  the  Son 
of  God,  who  was  incarnate  for  our  salvation  of 
the  Most  Holy  Virgin  Mary,  who  suffered  and 
died  in  the  flesh,  arose  again;  ascended  into  the 
heavens,  and  he  shall  come  again  to  judge  the 
living  and  the  dead.  3 — The  doctrine  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  as  the  sanctifier  and  perfecter  of 
the  salvation  of  mankind;  that  He  is  sent  on 
earth  by  the  Father  for  the  merits  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  abides  in  the  holy,  Catholic  and 
apostolic  church,  preserves  in  her  the  orthodox 
teaching  of  faith  unimpaired  and  saves  the  faith- 
ful chiefly  by  means  of  the  holy  mysteries  (or 
sacraments),  regenerating,  enlightening,  edify- 
ing and  strengthening  in  the  spiritual  life. 
Upon  these  truths  are  founded  also  the  other 
dogma  of  the  christian  religion;  viz:  That  of 
the   Mother   of   God,*   the   veneration   of   the 


*  See  the  author's  Eitual,  Services  and  Sacraments  of 
the  Eastern  Apostolic  Church, 


THE  TRUE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST.       69 

saints  of  God,  sacred  images,  the  administra- 
tion of  the  church,  etc. 

AVe  have  already  learned  that  the  true  con- 
fession of  faith  by  itself  is  not  sufficient  for 
salvation.  Of  necessity  another  condition  is 
required  to  belong  to  the  Orthodox  Church,  and 
that  is  the  recognition  of  a  lawful  hierarchy 
(or  priesthood),  the  reception  of  sacraments 
from  the  same  hierarchy,  and  obedience  to  it  in 
matters  concerning  salvation.  In  a  com- 
munity of  christians  in  which  there  is  no  law- 
ful bishop,  who  is  the  dispenser  of  the  gifts  of 
saving  grace,there  are  no  sacramental  gifts  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  there  can  be  no  mystery  of  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ,  and  where  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  Christ  are  not  present,  who  sacramentally 
abide  in  christians,  there,  of  course,  can  be  no 
church.  Sacred  scripture  testifies  to  this  very 
decidedly. 

Let  us  turn  our  attention  to  the  eighth  chap- 
ter of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  AYhat  do  we 
read  there?  At  the  time  when  a  great  persecu- 
tion arose  against  the  church  in  Jerusalem  and 
the  holy  archdeacon  Stephen  was  stoned  to 
death,  then  the  christians,  excepting  the 
apostles,  scattered  in  different  places  of  Judea 
and   Samaria.     The  deacon   Philip,  who  came 


70         PREACHING  IN  THE   RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

into  the  city  of  Samaria,  preached  Christ  there. 
The  people  with  one  heart  gave  heed  to  what 
Philip  said,  seeing  the  miracles  which  he 
worked;  for  the  unclean  spirits  came  out  of 
many;  some  they  left  with  wild  cries,  and  many 
who  were  impotent  and  lamed  beeame  whole. 
And  there  was  great  joy  in  that  city.  There 
was  a  man  in  that  place,  one  Simon  by  name, 
who  before  this  practiced  sorcery  and  con- 
founded the  people  of  Samaria,  giving  himself 
out  as  some  one  great.  Many  followed  him, 
saying  that  he  had  the  power  of  God.  But 
when  they  believed  Philip,  who  spoke  to  them 
of  the  good  tidings  of  the  kingdom  of  God  and 
of  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  received  bap- 
tism of  him,  both  men  and  women.  And  so  did 
Simon  believe,  and  after  being  baptized  he  re- 
mained with  Philip,  and,  seeing  the  great 
powers  and  signs  which  were  manifested,  he 
wondered.  The  apostles,  who  were  in  Jerusa- 
lem, having  heard  that  Samaria  received  the 
word  of  God,  sent  to  them  Peter  and  John,  who, 
having  come,  prayed  over  them  that  they  might 
receive  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  laying  their  hands 
upon  them  they  received  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Upon  seeing  that,  by  the  laying  on  of  the 
apostles'  hands,   the   Holy   Ghost   was  given, 


THE  TRUE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST.       71 

Simon  brought  them  money,  saying:  Give  me 
this  power,  that  upon  whomsever  I  lay  my 
hands  the  same  will  receive  the  Holy  Ghost. 
But  Peter  said  unto  him :  Thy  silver  perish 
with  thee,  because  thou  hast  thought  to  obtain 
the  gift  of  God  with  money.  Thou  has  neither 
part  nor  lot  in  this  matter. 

From  this  history  it  can  be  seen  that  during  the 
time  of  the  apostles  there  were  grades  in  the 
hierarchy.  Philip,  who  was  one  of  the  seven  dea- 
cons, notwithstanding  that  he  received  grace 
for  the  office  of  a  deacon  from  the  apostles,  not- 
withstanding that  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  was 
with  him,  he  performed  many  great  works,  yet 
he  could  not  bring  down  the  Holy  Ghost  upon 
the  Samaritans,  whom  he  had  baptized.  But 
when  the  apostles  Peter  and  John  had  come 
they  prayed  and  laid  their  hands  upon  them. 
Then  the  Holy  Ghost  came  down  upon  them 
and  was  manifested  in  signs  and  miracles.  The 
apostles  transmitted  the  power  of  conferring 
the  Holy  Ghost  only  to  the  bishops.  In  other 
parts  of  the  same  book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles, and  in  the  epistles  of  St.  Paul  to  Timothy, 
the  Bishop  of  Ephesus,  and  to  Titus,  the  Bishop 
of  Crete,  there  are  plain  statements  pertaining 
to  the  grade  or  office  of  presbyter,  which  is  a 


72         PREACHING  IN   THE  RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

middle  one,  between  the  episcopate  and  dia- 
conate. 

Which  hierarchy  is  the  true  and  lawful  one? 
It  is  the  priesthood  which  had  retained,  and 
continued  to  follow  these  conditions. 

1 — In  the  first  place  such  a  hierarchy  is  true, 
which  received  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
from  the  apostles  themselves  in  an  unbroken 
line  of  succession  from  one  to  another.  If,  for 
instance,  in  a  certain  locality  the  bishops  and 
priests  were  found  to  be  wanting,  the  succes- 
sion being  broken,  and  in  their  absence  the 
laity  elected  new  ones  and  lay  their  hands  upon 
them,  and  proclaimed  them  to  be  bishops  and 
presbyters,  such  a  hierarchy  would  be  unlaw- 
ful and  without  grace,  as  the  laity  cannot 
transmit  that  which  they  do  not  possess  them- 
selves— the  grace  of  the  priesthood.  In  the 
time  when  the  erring  church  of  Kome  was  the 
cause  of  the  Protestant  separation  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  there  was  not  a  bishop  in  any  of 
the  countries  that  sided  with  them,  excepting  in 
England  alone,*  where  protestantism  appeared 
later  than  in  Germany.  The  Protestants  com- 
menced to  elect  and  establish  presbyters  them- 

*  Individually  we  have  not  the  power  to  assert  that 
the  Church  of  England  has  retained  all  the  conditions 
whereby  she  may  not  be  an  erring  branch  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 


THE  TRUE  CHUECH  OF  CHRIST.       73 

selves,  and  these  ministers  not  only  baptize, 
but  they  officiate  at  a  so-called  communion 
service,  which  of  course  is  not  a  valid  sacra- 
ment, as  the  ministers  have  no  apostolic  ordi- 
nation, and  they  are  not  presbyters. 

As  we  learn  from  history,  it  is  only  such  a 
hierarchy  which  is  authentic — that  received 
the  grace  of  the  priesthood  from  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ's  apostles  themselves,  through  an 
unbroken  succession  of  the  lawful  heirs  of  this 
sacrament.  And  this  is  necessary.  As  the 
inclination  to  sin  is  transmitted  successively 
from  one  to  another  by  inheritance  in  the  con- 
ception and  birth  of  the  body,  thus  also  grace, 
that  is  the  power  of  God,  which  wipes  away  sin 
and  gives  strength  in  struggle  with  it,  for  the 
merits  of  the  new  Adam,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
being  bestowed,  it  is  transmitted  uninter- 
ruptedly by  the  laying  on  of  episcopal  hands  in 
the  priesthood,  by  anointing  all  christians  with 
holy  chrism,  and  also  through  sacred  acts  and 
visible  forms  in  other  sacraments. 

2.  Secondly,  an  authentic  hierarchy  is  such, 
which  confesses  all  the  truths  of  holy  religion, 
for  there  are  heresies  which  entirely  deprive 
bishops  and  priests  of  the  ministerial  grace. 

3.  Thirdly,   a   priesthood  to  be  lawful  must 


74         PEEACHING  IN  THE  KUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

administer  the  sacraments  orderly,  according 
to  the  rules  of  the  holy  church  Catholic,  not 
changing  essential  actions,  as  there  are  acts  and 
conditions  in  the  rites  of  mysteries  that  are  es- 
sential, without  which  a  certain  sacrament  may 
not  be  valid.  Should  a  sacred  minister  violate 
an  essential  rule  he  is  subject  to  degradation,  if 
the  violation  has  been  iotentional,  or,  at  least, 
the  mystery  is  void  of  power.  The  seventh 
rule  of  the  apostolic  canon  enjoins:  "Should 
any  one,  bishop  or  presbyter,  administer  not 
three  immersions  in  baptism  in  commemoration 
of  the  death  of  the  Lord,  but  one,  let  him  be  cast 
out."  And  those  who  were  baptized  by  one 
immersion,  it  was  ordered  that  they  should  be 
rebaptized.  If  a  priest  should  consecrate 
chrism  himself,  and  anoint  the  newly  baptized 
with  it,  such  an  act  would  not  be  the  mystery  of 
unction  with  chrism,  because  it  would  be  the 
usurpation  of  the  rights  and  the  power  of  a 
bishop,  and  such  a  thing  is  forbidden  presby- 
ters by  the  sixth  rule  of  the  Council  of  Carth- 
age. Should  a  bishop  or  priests  use  only  water 
in  place  of  wine  in  the  mystery  of  communion, 
as  some  heretics  do,  such  an  offering  would  not 
be  a  true  sacrament. 
4.  Fourthly,  to  be  a  lawful  and  true  hierarchy 


THE  TRUE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST.       75 

the  same  must  be  governed  and  must  govern 
its  spiritual  charge  according  to  the  rules  of  the 
holy  apostles,  the  seven  ecumenical  councils 
and  other  laws  which  are  accepted  by  the 
Orthodox  Church  in  general.  Having  aposto- 
tized  from  these  universal  or  Catholic  church 
regulations,  the  Boman  church  invented  a 
doctrine  concerning  the  supremacy  of  the 
Bishop  of  Rome  over  all  the  christian  churches. 
This  has  been  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the 
Romish  schism  or  separation  from  the  Ortho  - 
dox  Catholic  church. 

5.  A  fifth  condition  necessary  for  proving  the 
lawfulness  of  the  priesthood  is  its  unity  with 
the  Orthodox  Church  in  the  spirit  of  peace  and 
love.  Whoever  destroys  the  unity,  except  for 
a  genuine  and  important  cause,  and  the  bishops 
and  priests  together  with  christians  who  follow 
them,  that  separate  themselves  from  the  higher 
church  authorities,  are  excommunicated  from 
the  church,  according  to  the  rules  of  the 
apostles  and  the  canons  of  the  councils. 

The  Orthodox  Church,  which  is  one,  is  one 
spiritual  body,  animated  only  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  having  only  one  head — the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

The   Orthodox   Church   is    holy,  not  having 


76         PREACHING  IN   THE  RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

spot  or  wrinkle  or  any  such  thing  (Ephes.  v: 
27).  She  sanctifies  sinners  by  her  teaching 
and  sacraments. 

The  Orthodox  Church  is  Catholic,  i.  e.  col- 
lective, because  she  was  organized  by  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  for  the  salvation  of  all  people  in 
the  whole  world,  and  she  is  the  gathering  of  all 
true  believers  in  all  places,  times  and  peoples. 

The  Orthodox  Church  will  continue  on  earth 
until  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  imperishable 
and  not  conquered  hy  any  powers  of  hell.  In 
regard  to  holy  doctrine,  she  is  blameless  and 
will  ever  remain  unchangeable,  as  she  has 
abiding  in  her  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  spirit  of  truth, 
therefore  she  is,  according  to  the  apostle,  a 
pillar  and  the  foundation  of  ti^uth  (ITim  3: 15). 
The  existence  of  the  lawful  hierarchy  and  the 
administration  of  the  holy  mysteries  will  never 
cease  in  the  church. 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself  had  said:  I 
will  build  my  churchy  and  the  gates  of  hell  will 
not  prevail  against  her,  and  again:  Behold  I 
am  ivith  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  ages. 
Therefore,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  christian  to 
obey  the  church,  for,  outside  of  her,  there  is  no 
salvation.  If  thy  brother  Jieglect  to  hear  the 
church,  let   him  be  to  thee  as  an  heathen  man 


THE  TRUE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST.       77 

and  a  publican  (Matt,  xviii:    17),   saith    the 
Lord. 

May  God,  who  is  glorified  in  the  Trinity, 
help  us  by  His  grace  to  become,  through  our 
membership  in  the  church  militant  on  earth, 
members  of  the  church  triumphant  in  heaven, 
that  we  may  glorify  His  all-honorable  and 
majestic  name  with  the  angels  and  saints  for- 
ever, without  end.     Amen. 


THE  EDUCATION   OP   CHILDREN. 

WE  DESIRE  to  tell  you  of  some  thing, 
which  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  We 
find  it  necessary,  unfortunately,  to  repeat  in  a 
measure  what  has  been  told  you  several  times. 
We  speak  plainly,  without  a  flourish  of  words, 
because  we  feel  our  responsibility  before  God — 
if  we  be  misunderstood.  We  desire  to  remind 
you  of  our  parish  or  church- school.  To  learn 
to  read  and  write  you  send  your  children  to 
school.  You  know  that  you  must  do  it.  But 
how  many  of  you  think  of  the  serious  obligation 
of  rightly  and  thoroughly  preparing  your 
children  for  the  life  which  they  must  live  after 
only  a  few  years  ?  Some,  indeed,  give  their 
attention  to  what  they  call  a  decent  education 
for  their  children,  for  which  and  for  whom  they 
would  not  fall  back  of  any  one,  but  be  as  good 
and  as  nice  as  other  people  in  town.  If  you 
send  your  children  to  school  to  study  grammar 
and  arithmetic,  (the  future  mainstay  of  the 
"home"  are  often  compelled  to  leave  their  homes 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  CHILDREN.       79 

to  learn  even  cooking  and  dancing),  why  will 
you  not  be  just  as  eager  to  send  them  to  school 
where  they  will  study  religion  ?  If  you  are 
truly  interested  in  the  welfare  of  your  children, 
why  do  you  not  watch  as  strictly,  but  once  a  week, 
how  they  attend  to  their  lessons  in  the  study  of 
the  Law  of  God,  as  you  do  in  some  home-work, 
which  the  children  seemed  to  be  forced  to  have 
prepared  within  the  next  twelve  hours  for  their 
public  school  ?  You  must  obey  God,  above  the 
public  and  all  other  masters,  or  lose  your  souls 
for  the  responsibility  which  rests  upon  you  for 
the  present  and  future  welfare  of  your  children. 
Where  there  is  intellect,  there  always  will  be 
knowledge.  Still,  you  must  educate  the  child. 
Teach  the  boy  and  girl  geography  and  history  ; 
but  if  you  do  not  train  the  child's  will,  in  order 
not  only  to  please  you,  its  parents,  but  to  bend 
before  the  holy  will  of  Him,  who  is  the  only 
just  rewarder  of  good  and  evil,  then  you  are  a 
failure  as  a  christian.  Where  there  is  no  dis- 
cipline, there  is  no  constancy.  Where  there  is 
no  law,  there  is  no  order,  no  peace,  no  everlast- 
ing happiness.  If  no  tender  sympathies  re-echo 
in  the  heart  of  the  young,  away  have  been  cast 
the  time  and  labor  in  teaching — be  it  botany  or 
music. 


80         PREACHING  IN   THE  RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

What  a  pity  !  we  see  young  children  at  the 
age  of  ten,  whose  very  brains  seem  to  be  rattling 
with  numerical  problems,  while  they  have  not 
the  good  manners  to  step  out  of  the  way  of  an 
old  person,  or  even  the  common  human  feeling 
of  a  desire  to  aid  in  distress.  I  have  seen  even 
young  men  and  young  women  stand  gazing  on 
one  of  their  company,  who  was  fainting  from 
exhaustion,  without  the  offer  of  the  most  simple 
service — to  fetch  a  cup  of  cold  water. 

However  regular  athletic  exercises  are  at- 
tended to,  no  matter  how  carefully  the  lessons 
in  physiology  are  prepared,  little  indeed,  will 
they  profit  your  children,  if  they  know  not  the 
steps,  up  which  they  must  climb  to  seek  the 
Highest.  If  you,  fathers  and  mothers,  are 
christians,  then  we  ministers  of  the  Word  may 
rest  in  the  quiet  hope  that  your  children  have 
been  taught  dutifully  and  rightly  to  praise  the 
All-majestic  Creator  at  morn,  likewise  in  midday, 
confessing  each  themselves  before  God^  and 
openly  before  all  men,  confessing  God,  while  at 
night  they  humbly  implore  His  mercy.  But  if 
your  children  do  not  invoke  their  Guardian- 
Angel,  if  they  do  not  bless  the  most  pure 
Mother  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  fall 
down  in  humble  devotion,  supplicating  for  the 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  CHILDREN.       81 

grace  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  then  you  are  not 
christians. 

It  is  a  sad  fact,  which  must  be  recorded  in 
this  earthly  judgment  seat  of  God,  and  the 
trath  of  this  fact  is  as  bitter  for  me,  as  it  is  for 
you.  Nevertheless,  we  acknowledge  and  accept 
the  truthful  bitterness  with  the  hope,  that  it 
will  prove  to  be  a  healing  remedy,  which  will 
bring  peaceful  and  sweet  results. 

There  are  parents  belonging  to  our  congrega- 
tion in  San  Francisco,  who  go  to  the  matinee 
with  their  children,  not  giving  a  thought  before 
hand  to  the  character  of  the  play  ;  they  teach 
the  little  ladies  and  gentlemen,  i.  e.  the  future 
men  and  women  of  a  christian  land,  to  buy  and 
select  wearing  apparel,  which  is  pleasing  to  the 
eyes  of  the  world,  whether  it  be  healthful  and 
sensible,  or  not.  Yes,  they  are  "up  to  the 
times,"  they  visit  the  classes  of  the  public 
schools  ;  they  receive  and  fix  their  signatures 
to  monthly  school  reports.  Ah!  if  they  would 
but  fix  the  character  of  the  school  itself.  If 
their  children  are  tardy  for  five  minutes  they  may 
not  go  to  school  without  a  written  excuse.  Yet 
it  is  in  the  power  of  the  citizens  of  this  country 
to  have  laws  enacted,  which  would  protect  their 
young  from  being  crammed  with  "ologies"  and 


82         PREACHING  IN  THE   RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

"isms,"  and  insure  their  healthful  growth  and 
the  teaching  of  good  sense. 

How  is  it  with  our  church  schools?  All  our 
children  do  not  attend,  and  their  friends  and 
christian  neighbors  do  not  take  interest  enough  to 
invite  them  to  go  with  their  children.  The  par- 
ents do  not  visit  our  school,  but  once  a  year,  and 
then — when  we  are  not  at  work.  What  is  our 
home-work  for  the  children?  Only  a  little  of 
that  which  is  the  greatest.  A  very  little,  once  or 
twice  a  week,  of  the  commandments  of  God  and 
the  gospel  of  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ.  And  no 
one  to  think  about  it ;  no  one  at  home  to  see 
that  the  life-work  of  the  family  is  done!  Dur- 
ing the  short  hour  that  we  manage  to  collect  a 
few  unruly  children,  we  must  study  and  repeat, 
for  even  prayers  are  not  learned  in  the  home. 

Beloved  christians!  we  need  your  co-opera- 
tion. We  may  sow  the  seed,  but — remember — 
the  influence  of  your  home  is  the  sunshine 
which  heats  the  ground.  So  then  ask  your- 
selves, is  not  the  wind  too  chilly,  and  the  sun 
too  low  to  strike  its  rays  direct?  We  may  trim 
the  plant,  but  it  is  your  duty  to  keep  watering  it. 
Oh !  if  you  would  but  water  the  precious  plants 
of  your  gardens  with  prayerful  tears!  We 
invite  you  to  visit  our  school,  from  time  to  time, 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  CHILDREN.       83 

during  lesson  hours.  If  we  were  asked,  liow 
mauy  of  us  pray  together  with  children,  the 
consciontous  would  answer,  a  very,  very  few ; 
only  several  in  a  congregation  of  three  hundred 
souls.  Generally,  of  an  evening,  the  children 
are  sent  to  bed  ;  and  sometimes  some  one  calls 
out,  say  your  prayers  first.  And  from  time  to 
time  there  is  a  prayer,  but  more  often  there  is 
only  the  ''saying."  Must  I  explain  that  christian 
children  should  be  followed  to  their  night's 
rest;  in  most  cases  they  should  be  "put"  into 
bed. 

It  is  the  duty  especially  of  parents  to  see  that 
their  children  pray  correctly,  and  also  to  pray 
with  them  in  an  audible  voice  themselves.  Let 
this  not  be  an  act  of  routine.  Do  not  for  a 
moment  think  that  it  will  become  a  daily 
routine.  This  reasonable  discipline,  when 
you  kneel  by  the  side  of  tender  childhood 
and  see  the  little  ones  pray,  will  lighten 
in  your  own  heart  —  at  the  same  time 
that  it  does  in  theirs — the  fire  of  heavenly  love. 
Moreover,  your  prayers  must  be  the  prayers  of 
the  Orthodox  Church  of  Christ.  Our  Mother 
church  has  but  one  infallible  model  of  prayer — 
given  to  her  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  an 
invocation,  petitions,  and  a  doxology  ;  in  other 


84         PREACHING  IN  THE  RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

words,  a  call,  a  request,  and  a  praise.  If  you 
will  concentrate  your  minds  upon  the  subject 
of  each  one  of  these  divisions,  then  your  prayer 
will  not  be  a  "saying,"  but  an  "offering." 
Again  we  ask  you  to  give  us  your  dutiful  atten- 
tion and  assistance  in  the  work  of  teaching  our 
children.  If  not  for  the  sake  of  your  own  com- 
fort in  old  age  and  sickness,  let  us  for  the  sake 
of  their  Almighty  Father  in  Heaven,  and  our 
Judge,  awaken  in  their  hearts  the  love  for  that 
which  is  holy  and  truly  beautiful.     Amen. 


T 


SEEMON  ON  NEW  YEAK'S  DAY. 

Thy  Kingdom  Come.     (Matt,  vi:  10). 

HE  first  day  of  a  new  year  may  not  be  kept 
as  a  holy  day  and  a  day  of  quiet  by  every 
one,  as  the  Church  enjoins  that  it  should  be,  yet 
it  is  a  day,  nevertheless,  peculiarly  distinguished 
from  other  days  by  every  thinking  man  and 
woman.  New  Year's  Day  is  looked  upon  by 
some  with  that  awe,  which  is  always  respectful 
before  the  mysterious.  For  some  it  has  a 
strong  fascination,  which  is  expressed  in  their 
holiday-making,  often  bordering  on  senseless 
hilarity.  For  others  it  is  a  short  day  into 
which  they  vainly  strive  to  encompass  eternity, 
or  even  the  one  year  which  it  represents. 

The  merry  callers,  together  with  the  pleasant 
entertainers,  and  the  busy  crowd  of  elders,  to- 
gether with  tlie  happy  ones  of  new  and  young 
fortune,  cannot  hide  from  us  even  on  New 
Year's  Day  in  the  great  congregation  of  human 
kind  those  faces  that  look  on  us  with  serious 
mien,  those  eyes  of  careful  thought,  that  wist- 
ful gaze  of  longing,  those  eyes  that  burn  with 


86         PREACHING  IN  THE  RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

a  desire.  Some  of  these  last  named  are  those 
who  were,  so  to  illustrate,  moulded  into  an 
image  of  melancholy  composure,  whom  painful 
anxiety  could  not  conquer  and  make  of  their 
rich  natures  absolute  pessimists,  by  robbing 
them  of  their  last  hope;  and  some  are  those 
who  have  force,  power,  hidden  away  down  in 
their  souls,  who  persevere,  quietly  abiding  their 
time,  when  they  may  openly  and  fully  cherish 
their  own  desires,  satisfy  their  secret  aspira- 
tions, and  gain  the  end  of  their  passion — strong 
ambition.  Some  again  are  the  ones  who  very 
nicely  put  on  their  hack  the  sheep's  skin,  but 
inwardly  they  are  the  ferocious  ivolf.  They  take 
you  with  their  soft  hand,  but  nothing  is  left 
you;  sweetly  they  look  upon  you  with  quiet 
eyes,  but  you  find  yourself  to  be  lost;  they  kiss 
you,  and  you  are  betrayed  by  Judas.  Still  we 
find  among  the  last  mentioned,  i.  e.  of  those 
with  serious  and  longing  mien,  such  characters 
as  cannot  be  influenced  aside  from  the  path  they 
chose  for  their  life  walk,  either  by  wealth  or  by 
social  happiness,  nor  can  poverty  or  misery  eat 
and  destroy  their  individuality.  Fame,  position, 
science,  art,  comfort  and  society's  opinion  call 
out  to  them:  To  you  icill  I  give  all  this  author- 
ity, and  the  glory  of  them.     .     .     .    if  you  will 


SERMON   ON   KEW  YEAR'S   DAY.  87 

hui  worship  me,  it  shall  he  yours.  No,  to  the 
mighty  ones  of  this  world  answer  they;  is  it 
right  to  hearken  unto  you,  rather  than  unto 
God?  This  little  flock  of  the  chosen  ones  go 
steadily  along  the  narrow  path.  Praising  the 
Almighty  Creator  they  draw  near,  and  before 
the  awful  presence  of  the  Supreme  Being  they 
pray,  without  condemnation  and  with  boldness 
they  dare  to  say:  Father,  our  Father,  who  art 
in  heaven!  hallowed  he  Thy  name,  Thy  king- 
dom come,  preserve  us  from  the  taint  of  the 
world,  so  that  the  evil  spirit  with  his  passions 
and  servants  may  not  rule  over  us;  teach  us  to 
worship  Thee  in  the  spirit  and  in  the  truth, 
so  that  the  changing  etiquette  of  a  vanishing 
sphere,  and  the  vain  philosophy  of  time  servers 
may  not  harm  nor  forbid  us  to  call  to  Thee: 
"Lord,  Thy  kingdom  come." 

"I  wish  you  a  happy  new  year."  Such  is  the 
universal  greeting  on  this  day  among  friends. 
Man  salutes  man  on  the  first  day  of  a  new 
year  and  expresses  the  hope  that  the  new  year 
may  be  a  happy  one  for  each.  Ah!  and  so  it  is 
happiness,  the  aim  and  end  of  all,  which  is  the 
one  thing  most  desired.  That  is  what  chris- 
tians ask  for  when  they  pray  to  God:  Thy 
kingdom  come.     And  it  is  just  for  this  purpose 


88         PREACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

that  this  altar  was  built  for  us.  That  was  the 
desire  of  our  fathers,  who  contemplated  over 
thirty  years  ago  to  organize  a  parish  and  have 
a  house  of  prayer  in  this  city,  and  which  they 
realized,  thanks  to  the  christian  sympathy  of 
the  holy  synod  of  the  Russian  church. 

Happiness — that  was  the  mission  object  of 
the  apostles,  who  walked  the  earth.  It  was  for 
our  happiness  that  Jesus  Christ  came  and  com- 
menced for  the  whole  world  and  all  time  a 
new  and  everlasting  year.  Did  not  even  the 
heavens  and  their  spiritual  ministers  proclaim 
it?  Yea,  face  to  face  and  heart  in  heart,  did 
Mary  encompass  it.  To  Joseph  it  was  in  a 
dream.  It  was  gloriously  indicated  to  the 
learned  magicians  by  a  moving  star.  But  for 
the  peasant  on  the  fields  the  angels  sang.  Yes, 
for  this  gift  to  humankind,  for  this  happiness 
of  the  new  year  to  the  world  the  spiritual 
powers  of  heaven  thanked  the  Lord.  They 
sang:  Glory  to  God  in  ihe  Highest,  and  on 
earth  peace,  good  will  toward  men. 

As  we  to-day  commence  another  period  by 
which  we  measure  that  which  we  call  time,  and 
as  we  feel  that  this  time  is  gliding  past  us, 
flowing  swifting  beyond  our  reach,  and  strip- 
ping  us,  too,  of  that  which  we  sometimes  think 


SERMON   ON   NEW   YEAR'S   DAY.  89 

belongs  to  our  person,  we  surely  ought  give 
serious  thought  to  the  one  thing  so  needful,  to 
the  happiness  we  wish  our  friends  from  year  to 
year,  to  the  great  boon  our  spirits  yearn  for, 
even  though  it  be  on  our  part  sometimes  un- 
knowingly. Let  us  renew  within  us  the 
faculties  of  our  soul,  so  overburdened  with  a 
generally  prevailing  materialism.  Let  us  re- 
new within  us  our  hearts,  and  prepare  a  clean 
habitation  for  this  great  gift.  Let  us  strengthen 
our  desire,  once  elevated,  and  let  us  reach  out, 
and  accept,  and  follow  this  great  happiness  of 
God  in  man!  O  God,  save  us  from  the  rule 
which  our  own  severally  different,  irreligious 
and  selfish  opinions  create,  and  from  the  king- 
dom of  darkness,  and  let  The  kingdom  come! 

It  is  often  just  so  with  the  life  of  a  man  as 
the  traveler  of  great  deserts  experiences.  He 
now  is  under  the  hot  sun  with  no  water,  and 
then  the  cold  atmosphere  of  the  night  finds  him 
without  a  roof.  With  sore  foot  and  tired  eye 
he  goes  along  until  he  comes  to  an  oasis ;  the 
fresh  scene  dispels  the  monotony;  his  heavy 
heart  is  gladdened.  Such  an  oasis  we  find  even 
in  the  barren  hearts  of  all  men  of  the  world; 
but  not  so  often,  not  so  fruitful  and  so  refresh- 
ing as  in  the  life  of  an  humble  and  obedient 


90         PREACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

believer  iu  the  Allguiding  Providence  of  God. 
Oh,  christians!  watch  for  those  bright  moments 
in  your  life.  Prosper  in  the  real  happiness 
and  shine  forth  in  the  darkness  of  a  sinful 
world — a  light  to  others.  Stop  on  these  green 
and  fresh  pastures.  Eest.  Look  over  the  past 
and  examine  the  way.  Consider  the  different 
kinds  of  temptations  you  underwent.  Know 
thyself;  where  were  you  the  weakest?  Which 
place  on  the  road  was  it  the  most  difficult  to 
pass?  How  have  you  come  out  of  the  battle? 
What  is  it  you  have  lost?  Did  you  gain  any- 
thing? If  so,  is  it  good  for  your  salvation? 
Can  your  neighbor  profit  by  it? 

Let  us  hear  Solomon,  the  wisest  of  all  earthly 
born,  the  richest  and  greatest  king  of  his  time; 
let  us  hear  what  he  says  in  one  of  those  bright 
moments  of  his  life,  when  he  was  most  fit  and 
capable  to  rightly  diagnose  his  selfrexamination. 
He  says :  "7 /lare  seen  all  the  icorks  that  are 
done  under'  the  sun;  and,  behold,  all  is  vanity 
and  vexation  of  Spirit.  1  communed  ivith  my 
own  hearty  saying^  Lo,  I  am  come  unto  great 
estate,  and  have  gotten  more  ivisdom  than  all 
they  that  have  been  before  me  in  Jerusalem; 
yea,  my  heart  hath  great  experience  of  ivisdom 
and  knowledge.     And  I  gave  my  heart  to  know 


SERMON   ON   NEW   YEAR's   DAY,  91 

wisdom,  and  fo  knoto  madness,  and  folly :  I  per- 
ceived that  this  also  is  vexation  of  spirit.  I 
made  me  great  icorks,  I  huilded  me  houses,  I 
planted  me  vineyards.  All  kinds  of  trees  and 
floivers  I  had  in  my  gardens.  I  made  me  pools 
of  loater.  I  got  me  servants  and  maid  servants. 
I  gathered  me  also  silver  and  gold.  I  was 
great.  Also  my  ivisdom  remained  ivith  me. 
Then  I  looked  on  all  the  loorks  that  my  hands 
had  luroughi,  and  on  the  labor  thai  I  had 
labored  to  do,  and,  behold,  all  was  vanity  and 
vexation  of  sjnrit,  and  there  icas  no  profit 
under  the  sun  *  *  *  AVlien  we  read  farther 
on  and  come  to  the  close  of  Solomon's  repent- 
ant confession,  he  says:  "Xe/  us  hear  the  con- 
clusion of  the  IV hole  matter,  fear  God  and  keep 
His  commandments,  for  this  is  the  whole  duty 
of  man.  For  God  shall  bring  every  loork  into 
judgment,  ivith  every  secret  thing,  ivhether  it  be 
good,  or  ivhether  it  be  evil.''^ 

On  this  New  Year's  Day,  when  we  look  over 
the  past  and  see  our  mistakes,  our  weakness, 
our  folly,  and  our  sins,  and  when  from  to-day 
we  look  to  the  future  with  renewed  hope,  wish- 
ing as  much  as  ever  before — a  happy  new 
year,  our  good  resolutions  must  be  carried  out 
with  a  strong  will.     When  we  learn  to  seek  our 


92         PREACHING  IN   THE  RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

happiness  in  that  one  iliing  above  all  needful; 
when  we  learn  to  bend  our  wills  to  the  pleasures 
of  that  Supreme  Will,  which  rules  all,  then  we 
will  have  found  the  good  portion^  ivhich  shall 
not  he  taken  aivay  from  us.  The  Kingdom  of 
God  will  have  come. 

But  to  some  I  know  this  appears  to  be  a  hard 
saying.  It  is  well  to  talk  about  such  high 
things,  but  how  can  we  practice  a  heavenly  life 
upon  earth,  they  question.  Certainly  the 
thought  about  earthly  things  is  indispensable  to 
our  earthly  life.  Do  but  observe  how  we 
abandon  things  heavenly,  for  things  earthly, 
and  we  shall  find  it  not  so  difficult  to  put  aside 
earthly  things  for  things  heavenly.  We  limit 
the  time  we  employ  in  works  of  charity  and 
religious  practice,  in  order  to  have  more  time 
for  worldly  things.  Some  times  we  go  into  the 
Church  of  God,  and  at  the  same  time  we  are 
thinking  of  that  which  engages  our  minds  at 
home  and  at  our  business.  And  some  times, 
even,  while  standing  bodily  in  the  house  of 
prayer,  our  thoughts  are  attracted  elsewhere, 
by  our  worldly  affections,  or  by  the  passions 
which  rule  in  us;  even  the  very  prayer  of  some 
is  tainted  by  flitting  worldly  thoughts!  Now  do 
the  very  reverse.     Do  that  which  is  necessary 


93 

for  your  earthly  existence,  but  endeavor  not  to 
extend  it  beyond  the  necessary,  and  strive  to 
liberate  yourself  as  much  as  possible  from  such 
labor,  in  order  to  have  more  time  and  freedom 
for  works  o£  piety.  Restrain  your  thoughts 
from  earthly  things,  not  only  when  standing 
before  God  in  His  temple,  but  wherever  you 
may  be,  when  obliged  to  busy  yourself  with 
earthly  things,  occasionally  turn  away  your 
thoughts  and  especially  your  desires  for  them, 
and  lift  up  your  heart  unto  heaven  and  God. 
When  you  set  about  worldly  affairs,  remember 
God,  and  ask  for  His  blessing  and  assistance; 
when  you  go  to  rest,  remember  God  and  give 
thanks  unto  Him  for  His  assistance  in  your 
labors,  and  for  the  gift  of  rest. 

Thus  we  may  unite  every  earthly  work,  not 
contrary  to  the  law  of  God,  with  a  love  of  things 
above,  and,  so  to  say,  change  earthly  and  visible 
things,  into  things  heavenly  and  spiritual. 
When  thou  lookest  upon  the  sun,  said  once  a 
saint,  seek  the  true  sun,  for  thou  art  blind. 
When  thou  turnest  thy  gaze  upon  light,  turn 
towards  thy  soul,  and  see  whether  thou  hast 
there  the  true  and  blessed  light,  which  is  the 
Lord. 

May  the  light  of  our  Lord  Jusus  Christ  illu- 


94         PKEACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN*  CHURCH. 

mine,  may  His  Spirit  strengthen  each  of  us, 
and  may  our  walking  according  to  His  Word 
and  His  Life,  lead  us  all  here  upon  earth  to  set 
our  affections  on  things  above,  and  thereby  con- 
duct us  to  the  blessed  contemplation  of  Him  in 
heaven,  where  reigneth  supreme  the  happiness 
of  all  sincere  seekers  of  the  true  new  year. 
Amen. 


THOUGHTS  ON  FAST  AND  TEM- 
PERANCE. 

MAN,  having  received  his  present  being, 
consisting  of  a  visible  body  and  intel- 
lectual, immaterial  soul,  is  a  being  complex. 
But  the  nature  and  worth  of  both  the  just 
named  parts  are  not  of  equal  value.  The  body- 
is  made  as  an  instrument  that  is  moved  by  the 
order  of  a  ruler;  the  soul  is  designed  to  govern 
and  command  it,  as  the  superior  of  an  inferior. 
The  soul,  receiving  from  the  intellect  and  rea- 
son the  means  by  which  it  makes  distinctions, 
may,  possessing  such  a  quality  of  distinction, 
separate  the  truly  beautiful  from  its  common 
imitation;  it  may  perceive  God  as  the  Creator 
and  Designer,  not  only  of  that  which  is  under- 
neath our  feet  and  received  by  our  senses,  but 
that,  also,  which  is  hidden  from  the  eyes,  and 
of  which  the  immaterial  mind  may  contemplate, 
having  the  power  of  imagination  at  its  command. 
Practicing,  as  the  godly  one,  in  righteousness 
and  virtue,  she  aspires  unto  divine  wisdom,  and, 


96         PREACHING  IN  THE  RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

obeying  its  laws  and  commands,  withdraws  as 
much  as  possible  from  the  desires  of  the  flesh, 
comes  nearer  to  God,  and  strives  by  all  its 
strength  to  ally  itself  with  the  good.  The 
particular  and  most  important  object  of  this 
sacred  philosophy  is  temperance;  as  it  is  the 
mind,  which  is  not  disturbed,  but  free  of  all  in- 
fluences of  pollution,  arising  from  the  stomach 
or  other  senses,  that  has  a  continual  action  and 
contemplates  the  heavenly,  the  things  pertain- 
ing to  its  own  sphere. 

And  so  it  behooves  us,  the  lovers  of  all  things 
pure,  the  lovers  of  the  word  of  God,  yea — even 
christians,  to  love  the  present  time,  which  our 
holy  church  has  set  apart  for  a  special  oppor- 
tunity of  obtaining  greater  grace  in  the  sight 
of  God.  We  should  hail  with  joy  such  an  op- 
portunity! The  time  I  refer  to  is  the  Advent 
Lent.  We  should  love  this  fast  as  the  teacher 
of  sobriety,  the  mother  of  virtue,  the  educator 
of  the  children  of  God,  the  guardian  of  the 
unruly,  the  quiet  of  the  soul,  the  staff  of  life,  the 
peace  that  is  firm  and  serene.  Its  importance 
and  strictness  pacifies  the  passions,  puts  out 
the  fire  of  anger  and  wrath,  cools  and  quiets  the 
agitation  produced  by  over-eating.  And,  as  in 
summer  time,  when  the  sweltering  heat  of  the 


THOUGHTS   ON   FAST   AND   TEMPERANCE.       97 

suu  hangs  over  the  ground,  the  northern  breeze 
proves  a  blessing  to  the  sufferers,  scattering  the 
closeness  by  its  pleasant  coolness,  so  does  like- 
wise fast,  destroying  the  overabundance  of  heat 
in  the  body,  which  is  caused  by  gluttony.  Prov- 
ing to  be  of  so  much  benefit  to  the  sou],  Lent 
brings  the  body  no  less  benefit.  It  refines  the 
coarseness  of  matter,  releases  the  body  of  part 
of  its  burden,  lightens  the  blood  vessels  that 
are  often  ready  to  burst  with  an  overflow  of 
blood,  and  prevents  them  becoming  clogged, 
which  may  happen  as  easily  as  it  occurs  with  a 
water  pipe,  that,  when  being  forced  to  maintain 
the  abundance  of  water  pressed  into  it  by  a 
powerful  machine,  bursts  from  the  pressure. 
And  the  head  feels  light  and  clear  when  the 
blood-vessels  do  not  nervously  beat,  and  the 
brain  does  not  become  clouded  by  the  spreading 
of  evaporations.  Abstinence  gives  the  stomach 
ease,  which  relieves  it  from  a  forced  con- 
dition of  slavery,  and  from  boiling  like  a  boiler, 
working  with  a  sickly  effort  to  cook  the  food  it 
contains.  The  eyes  look  clear  and  undimmed, 
without  the  haze  that  generally  shadows  the 
vision  of  a  glutton.  The  activity  of  the  limbs 
is  stable,  that  of  the  hand  firm;  the  breath  is 
regular  and  even,  and  not  burdened  by  pent-up 


98         PEEACHING  IN  THE  EUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

organs.  The  speech  of  him  who  fasts  is  plain 
and  distinct;  the  mind  is  pure,  and  then  it  is 
that  the  mind  shows  forth  its  true  image  of 
God,  when,  as  if  in  an  immaterial  body,  it 
quietly  and  undisturbedly  exercises  the  func- 
tions belonging  to  it.  The  sleep  is  quiet  and 
free  from  all  apparitions.  Not  to  extend 
unnecessarily,  we  may  sum  up  by  saying  that 
fast  is  the  common  peace  of  the  soul  and  body. 
Such  are  the  beneficent  results  of  a  temperate 
life;  and  such  are  the  precepts  of  a  christian 
life.  It  is  a  law  of  the  Holy  Church,  which 
prescribes  that  we  should  fast  during  the  Lenten 
season. 

Do  you  not  know  that  angels  are  the  constant 
watchers  and  guardians  of  those  that  fast,  just 
as  the  demons,  those  very  friends  of  greasy 
stuffs,  those  lovers  of  blood  and  companions  of 
drunkards,  are  the  associates  of  those  that  give 
themselves  up  to  debauchery  and  orgies  during 
such  a  holy  time  as  lent.  The  angels  and  saints, 
as  also  the  evil  spirits,  ally  themselves  with 
those  they  love,  they  become  related  with  that, 
which  is  pleasing  to  them.  Every  day  in  our 
life  God  points  out  a  lesson  to  us  concerning 
the  eternal  life,  but  we  very  seldom  heed  "it; 
in  a  word,  we  generally  don't  care!     Oh,  is  this 


THOUGHTS   ON   FAST   AND   TEMPERANCE.        99 

not  terrible  to  think  of?  And  yet  no  one  man 
will  deliberately,  so  to  speak,  attempt  to  slight 
the  Almighty  Creator,  no  one  who  is  capable  of 
using  his  understanding  in  the  very  least  de- 
gree. But  yet,  beloved  brethren,  we  do  it! 
we,  day  after  day,  in  our  worldly  habits  uncon- 
sciously say:  "I  don't  care!"  Have  we  a  right 
to  do  anything  at  all  unconsciously,  when  He, 
in  whose  hand  the  very  breath  of  our  life 
flutters  as  a  very  weak,  little  thing,  Avhen  He, 
I  say,  bestowed  upon  us  this  conscience?  Over 
and  over  again  we  dare  to  directly  disobey 
God's  commands.  It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  Living  God.  But  the 
Lord  of  Hosts  is  long-suffering,  and  to  repent- 
ant christians  He  is  the  Father  of  Mercies. 
Yet  it  behooves  us,  christians,  to  zealously 
watch  every  step  we  take,  to  be  sure  that  we  are 
w  Iking  in  the  path,  that  our  Holy  Church  not 
only  pointed  out,  but,  as  it  were,  even  cut  out 
for  us  by  the  stream  of  martyr's  blood,  by  the 
wisdom  of  the  Holy  Ghost  abiding  in  the 
sainted  bishops  of  the  universal  councils,  the 
night  labor  of  praying  and  fasting  fathers,  and 
a  host  of  pure,  self-sacrificing,  obedient  women, 
such  as  Mary,  Thekla,  Barbara,  Makrina.  The 
church  says  that  in  time  of  Lent  we  must  fast, 


100       PREACHING  IN  THE  RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

and  we  should  not  disobey,  because  our  Holy 
Churcli  is  the  Church  of  God,  and  she  tells  us 
what  God  Himself  wills  that  we  should  do.  If 
we  have  all  the  learning  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, it  will  appear  as  a  blank  before  the  simple 
words  of  the  church,  spoken  in  the  power  of  the 
Spirit  of  God.  AVe  can  not,  and  we  have  no 
right  (for  who  gave  us  such  a  privilege),  to 
excuse  ourselves.  We  are  with  good  inten- 
tion, in  simplicity  of  heart  to  obey  the  com- 
mandments of  the  church,  and  not  worry  about 
adapting  ourselves  to  the  ways  of  the  church, 
for  when  we  obey  with  our  whole  heart,  with  a 
strong  desire  to  fulfill  the  holy  command- 
ments, then  our  Holy  Mother  Church  adapts 
herself  to  the  weakness  of  her  faithful  children. 
But  let  us  turn  back  to  the  lesson  pointed  out 
for  us.  We  may  every  day  learn  a  new  lesson 
about  the  next  life,  which  is  of  so  much  im- 
portance, that  the  examples  in  this  life  are  in- 
exhaustible. Look  around  and  observe.  In  this 
instance  look  into  the  kingdom  of  animals  and 
birds.  See  the  clean  dove  hovering  over  places 
that  are  clean,  over  the  grain  field,  gathering 
seed  for  its  young.  Now  look  at  the  unsatiated 
raven,  flapping  its  heavy  wings  around  the  meat 
market.     And   so    we    must    strive   to   love   a 


THOUGHTS  ON  FAST  AND  TEMPERANCE.  101 

temperate  life,  that  we  may  be  beloved  by 
angels,  and  hate  all  unnecessary  luxury,  bo  as 
not  to  fall  with  it  into  communion  with  de- 
mons. 

Let  us  return  with  our  memory  to  the  com- 
mencement of  our  race,  and  experience  will 
testify  to  that  which  we  sometimes  make  light 
of.  The  law  of  fasting  would  not  be  given  to 
us,  had  not  the  law  of  the  first  abstinence  been 
transgressed.  The  stomach  would  not  be 
named  as  an  evil-minded  thing,  had  not  the 
pretext  for  pleasure  entailed  after  it  such  con- 
sequences of  sin.  There  would  be  no  need  of 
the  plow  and  the  laboring  oxen,  the  planting  of 
seed,  the  watering  shower,  the  mutual  change  of 
the  seasons  of  the  year,  the  winter  binding  in 
fetters  and  the  summer  opening  up  all  things. 
In  a  word  there  would  be  no  need  of  such 
periodically  repeating  toil,  had  not  we,  through 
the  mistaken  pleasure  of  our  first  parents,  con- 
demned ourselves  to  this  round  of  labor.  Yet 
we  were  on  the  way  of  leading  another  kind 
of  life,  in  comparison  with  what  we  see  now, 
and  which  we  hope  to  regain  once  more,  when 
we  are  liberated  from  this  life  of  passion  by 
the  resurrection.  Such  is  the  mercy  of  God's 
condescension   towards   us,  that   we  should  be 


102        PEE  ACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

again  restored  to  the  former  dignity,  which  we 
had  enjoyed  through  His  love  to  man,  and 
which  mercy  we  did  not  carefully  keep.  Fast 
is  a  type  of  the  future  life,  an  imitation  of  the 
incorruptible  existence.  There  are  no  feast- 
ings  and  sensual  gratifications  over  there. 

Do  not  flee  from  the  difficulty  of  fast,  but  set 
up  hope  against  the  trial,  and  you  will  obtain 
the  desired  abstinence  from  food.  Repeat  to 
yourself  the  words  of  the  pious:  "Fast  is 
bitter,  but  paradise  is  sweet;  thirst  is  torment- 
ing, but  the  spring,  from  which  he  who  drinks 
will  thirst  never  again,  is  at  hand."  The  body 
is  importunate,  but  the  immaterial  soul  is 
much  stronger — strength  is  dead,  but  nigh  is 
the  resurrection.  Let  us  say  to  our  much  crav- 
ing stomach  what  the  Lord  said  to  the  tempter : 
Mem  shall  noi  live  hy  bread  alone,  hid  hy  every 
loord  of  God.  Fast  is  not  hunger,  but  a  little 
abstinence  from  food,  not  an  inevitable  punish- 
ment, but  a  voluntary  continence,  not  a  servile 
necessity,  but  a  free  selection  of  the  wise. 
Pray  and  you  will  be  strengthened;  call,  and  a 
prompt  helper  will  come  to  your  assistance. 


SEKMON  ON  THE  GOSPEL  OF  THE 
PKODIGAL. 

(First  read:  Luke  xv.  11-32.) 

YOU  HAVE  heard  to-day's  gospel.  The 
parable  of  the  "prodigal  son"  is  not  a  thing 
new  to  you.  You  have  heard  of,  you  have  seen 
the  prodigal  sin,  and  fall  low,  down,  deep  into 
all  the  consequential  miseries  of  iniquity.  If 
you  do  not  know,  you  have  heard  of  the  bound- 
less mercy  of  a  pitying  God.  You  may  under- 
stand how  a  good  father  takes  back  to  his  heart 
his  beloved  child,  once  lost,  but  found  again. 
You  know  the  parable  of  the  prodigal  son. 
Then  why  is  it  that  the  church,  year  after  year, 
recalls  to  our  memory  this  parable?  She  does 
so  in  order  to  strengthen  us  in  the  way  of  salva- 
tion. Until  we  have  passed  the  final  limit,  and 
receive  our  sentence  at  the  hands  of  the  Divine 
Judge,  we  belong  to  the  Church  Militant,  i.  e. 
while  we  are  on  earth,  we  are  obliged  to  continu- 
ally struggle  for  the  good. 

In  order  to  obtain  conscientious  peace,  love, 


104       PREACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN    CHURCH. 

spiritual  prosperity,  and  holiness,  we  must 
always  battle  with  the  evil.  The  more  high 
and  purely  spiritual  the  condition  is,  which  we 
strive  to  attain,  the  more  fierce  is  the  fight,  and 
our  warfare  must  be  constant  with  wrong,  iufi- 
delity,  superstition,  prejudice,  and  corruption, 
ludeed,  we  must  overcome  ourselves,  we  must 
get  the  better  of  self. 

You,  no  doubt,  have  seen  men  and  women 
wasting  their  living  in  the  most  hideous  visible 
form  of  sin,  but  dare  you  stand  in  the  awful 
presence  of  the  Most  Pure  Being  and  Creator, 
and  say  that  yoti  are  not  a  prodigal?  Do  you 
not  wish  to  come  back  to  God — the  Heavenly 
Father?  Sinners,  yes,  we  are  sinners!  One  of 
the  greatest  meditators  on  the  ways  of  Divine 
Providence — the  Prophet-King  David- -in  his 
confession  to  God,  says:  ^'Thy  commandment 
is  very  broad.''  And,  in  this  light,  there  is  not 
a  commandment,  or  a  law,  which  we  have  not 
transgressed. 

Surely  my  time  was  not  spent  with  harlots, 
some  might  say,  but  did  you  make  careful  use 
of  your  time,  which  is  not  yours,  for  it  belongs 
to  Him  who  gave  it,  and  did  you  without  westing, 
treasure  it  so  that  it  now  bears  a  hundred  fold 
of  profit,  pleasing  to  the  Receiver  of  virtue  in 


SEEMON  ON  GOSrEL  OF  THE  TRODIGAL.  105 

abundance?  I  bad  never  lost  control  of  myself, 
so  tliat,  by  unawares,  my  table  prove  to  be  a 
scanty  board  of  husks,  and  my  companions  a 
herd  of  swine.  Yet,  you  may  not  assert  that 
you  beautified  your  soul  with  a  holy  character, 
nor  did  you  enrich  your  intellect  with  an  ever- 
lasting wisdom;  and  your  heart,  is  it  clean,  does 
it  expand  so  that  the  Holy  Ghost  freely  makes 
His  abode  there?  Does  it  know  the  needy  and 
the  deserving?  Does  it  go  out  toward  its  neigh- 
bor, yearning  to  share  with  its  very  existence — 
giving  up  all  self-interest,  and  even  the  com- 
forts of  an  earthly  life? 

^Ye,  all  of  us,  make  up  one  household.  We 
are  members  of  one  and  the  same  family.  And 
you  will  never  taste  of  true  happiness,  nor 
know  what  it  is  to  be  blessed,  until  you  have 
learned  this  lesson.  You  may  be  a  younger 
son  or  daughter,  but  if  you  be  the  prodigal, 
remember,  that  in  your  Father's  House  there  is 
bread  enough,  and  to  spare]  come  to  yourself; 
consider  your  life,  remember  the  free  and  con- 
fiding innocence  of  your  first  youth,  now  that 
you  are  firmly  fastened,  and  yet  lost,  look  within 
and  find  yourself.  And  when  you  have  found 
yourself,  you  will  easily  find  God.  He  will  see 
you,   while   you   are   coming,  yet  far  off^  your 


106       PEEACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

Father,  and  He  ivill  be  moved  wiih  compassion, 
Heicillfold  you  in  His  arms  and  Mss  you. 

If  you   are   not  a   younger   member   of   the 
family,  may  you  not  be  the  elder  son  of  the 
Father?     You  may  not  be  a  lavish  spendthrift, 
nor  a  wanderer,  and  you  may  enjoy  the  quiet 
of  home,  but  are  you  secure?      The  enemy  may 
SOU)  fares  in  ihe  field  of  your  heari^  ivhile  you 
are  comforiahly  asleep.      You  may  live  in  your 
father's   house  faithfully  and  continually,  you 
may  have  the  oversee  of  all  the  work,  and  the 
servants,  yet  are  you  secure?     No,  if  you  do  not 
give  yourself  concern   of   the   whereabouts   of 
your  younger  brother,  you  are  not  secure  for 
all  time.     You   may   be  the   oldest,   you   may 
know  all  the  secrets  of  the  household,  the  keys 
of  all  chests  and  doors  may  be  in  your  posses- 
sion, you  may  live  in  the  Grace  of  God,  and 
enjoy    the   light   of    your    Heavenly    Father's 
countenance,  still,  remember  the  elder  son  in  the 
parable!     For  the  want  of  charity  for  :  n  erring 
one,  a  sinner,  an  inexperienced   one,   for   one 
who  labored  under  a  wrong  opinion,  he — the 
heir  and  first-born— came   in  danger  of  losing 
all   at  the   end.     He  was   the   cause   of   much 
anxiety  to  his   father  icho   came  out  and  en- 
treated  him.     This  one's  pride  (a  false  pride  it 


SERMON   ON   GOSPEL   OF  THE   PEODIGAL.     107 

was)  that  suffered.  The  father  had  to  reason 
with  his  son,  who  thought  his  sense  of  justice 
was  being  injured.  In  the  absence  of  virtue, 
and  charity — the  principal  one — we  see  the 
ekier  sou  blind  to  his  own  condition,  for  he 
dared  to  assert  his  rights,  while  justice  belonged 
to  the  real  owner,  his  loving  Father. 

And  now,  my  brethren,  if  we  be  the  elder 
members  of  God's  family,  let  us  think  of  the 
responsibility,  and  not  fall  from  Grace,  but  con- 
tinue in  His  House.  To  the  young,  and  to  the 
prodigal,  if  their  conscience  be  not  yet  lost,  the 
Divine  voice  calls,  come  to  your  Father,  and 
tell  Him  all,  He  waits  with  open  heart.     Amen. 


SEKMON  PREACHED  ON  OETHODOX 
SUNDAY. 

Who  is  so  great  a  God  as  our  God?     Thou  art  the  God 
that  alone  doest  wonders. 

ON  THIS  first  Sunday  m  Lent,  the  Church, 
in  memory  and  in  thanksgiving  for  her  vic- 
tory in  the  struggles  and  labors  in  protecticg 
the  true  Faith  against  the  contentions  of  evil- 
minded  heretics,  celebrates  the  "Triumph  of 
Orthodox  Christianity,"  and  for  this  reason  we 
call  this  day  "  Orthodox  Sunday." 

It  was  in  787  A.  D.  that  the  Church,  in  Uni- 
versal Council  assembled,  decreed,  among  other 
resolutions  and  canonical  acts,  that  it  was  lawful 
for  Christians  to  use  in  their  private  and  public 
worship  sacred  images,  i.  e.,  pictures  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  His  Holy  Mother,  of  the 
Saints,  and  sacred  events  in  Biblical  and  Chris- 
tian history,  but,  of  course,  when  divine  ador- 
ation was  ascribed  to  God  alone,  and  when  rev- 
erence is  offered  in  honor  of  His  works — the 
objects  which  these  cherished  pictures  represent 
to  us. 


SERMON   PREACHED   ORTHODOX   SUNDAY.     109 

The  Christian  doctrine  necessary  for  our  sal- 
vation, as  revealed  in  Sacred  Scripture  and 
Tradition,  has  been  expounded  and  delivered 
for  us  from  all  mixture  of  human  and  heretical 
interpretation  by  the  Seven  Great  Councils. 
The  one  mentioned  before  was  the  last,  namely, 
the  Seventh  Ecumenical  Council.  These  coun- 
cils defined  the  teaching  concerning  the  Persons 
of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity  in  the  one  God-head, 
the  advent  in  the  world  of  the  Son  of  God,  the 
relations  between  ourselves  and  our  Saviour, 
the  relations  between  the  Church  Militant  on 
earth  and  the  Church  Triumphant  in  heaven, 
the  Providence  of  God  in  our  reward  and  in 
our  punishment,  the  Apostolic  Succession  and 
Hierarchical  Economy  as  necessary  for  the  con- 
tinuance of  Christ's  work  in  the  world,  the  seven 
Sacraments,  etc. 

It  was  not  long,  however,  when  again  heresy 
began  to  show  itself  in  some  of  the  branches  of 
the  Church,  and  when  some  ambitious  people 
would  impose  upon  the  Church  their  personal 
and  fallible  opinions.  To  ward  off  the  false 
shoots  and  upstarts,  and  to  remind  the  Chris- 
tians of  the  binding  rules  and  canons  of  the 
Seven  General  Councils,  a  large  assembly  of 
Holy  Fathers  and   teachers   gathered  in  Con- 


110        PREACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHUECH. 

stantinople  in  842  A.  D.,  under  the  protection 
of  the  good  Empress  Theodora,  and,  mindful  of 
the  Divine  Judgment  pronounced  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  though  it  was  by  the  condescendingly 
lovable  Apostle  St.  Paul  that  if  any  man  love 
not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  let  him  he  Anathema 
Maranatha,  they  declared:  "  To  those  who  re- 
ject the  councils  of  the  Holy  Fathers  and  their 
traditions  which  are  agreeable  to  Divine  Reve- 
lation, and  which  the  Orthodox  Catholic  Church 
piously  maintains,  anathema"  ! 

This  council  sat  in  convention  during  the  first 
week  of  Great  Lent.  While  fasting  and  pray- 
ing they  collected  all  the  decisions  of  the  Seven 
General  Councils.  When  Sunday  came  they 
marched  in  solemn  procession,  bearing  the  holy 
cross,  sacred  images  of  our  Lord,  the  Blessed 
Virgin  and  the  Saints,  being  followed  by  a  mul- 
titude of  Christians  devoutly  chanting  under 
the  leadership  of  the  learned  monk  well  known 
by  the  name  of  St.  Theodore  the  Studious^  his 
newly  composed  hymn  which  you  have  heard 
to-day  and  which  translated  reads  thus  :  "  To 
Thy  most  pure  Icon  (image)  we  bow  down, 
O  Blessed  One,  praying  for  forgiveness  of  our 
sins,  Christ  our  God;  for,  of  thine  own  will, 
thou  didst  condescend  to  ascend  the  cross  in 


SERMON   PREACHED   ORTHODOX   SUNDAY.     Ill 

flesh,  and  thereby  to  deliver  thy  creatures  from 
the  yoke  of  the  enemy.  Therefore,  we  thank- 
fully cry  unto  thee,  Thou  hast  filled  all  things 
with  joy,  O  our  Saviour,  thou  who  earnest  to 
save  the  world." 

Having  come  inti^  the  cathedral  of  St.  Sophia 
this  religious  and  noted  assemblage  offered  the 
most  impressive  praise  service,  or  "Te  Deum," 
ever  known  in  the  grand  liturgies  of  the  Holy 
Orthodox  Church.  We  have  in  the  words  of 
the  Psalmist  David  the  key-note  which  re-echoed 
in  the  thunder  of  anathemas  and  resounded  in 
the  peals  of  praise  of  this  complete  and  uni- 
versal thanksgiving  service :  Who  is  so  great  a 
God  as  our  God?  Thou  art  the  God  that  alone 
doesi  wonders!  Here  were  recounted  all  the 
false  teachings  condemned  by  the  Ecumenical 
Councils,  and  even  persons  were  anathematized 
for  willfully  adhering  to  heresy,  who  did  not 
repent  of  their  sins,  and  earnestly  seek  the  truth 
by  their  return  to  membership  in  the  Church  of 
Christ.  Among  such  were  those  "who  deny 
the  existence  of  God,  and  unreasonably  main- 
tain that  the  world  existeth  of  itself,  and  that 
all  things  happen  through  fate  and  without  the 
providence  of  God;  those  who  insolently  dare 
to  say  that  the  All-pure  Virgin  Mary,  before  her 
bringing  forth,  in  her  bringing  forth,  and  after 


112        PREACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

her  bringing  forth,  was  not  a  virgin ;  those  who 
believe  not  that  the  Holy  Ghost  gave  wisdom 
to  the  Prophets  and  Apostles,  and  through  them 
proclaimed  to  us  the  true  way  to  everlasting 
salvation,  and  that  He  confirmed  them  by  won- 
ders, nor  believe  that  now  He  dwelleth  in  the 
hearts  of  the  faithful  and  true  Christians,  lead- 
ing them  into  all  truth;  those  who  deny  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  who  reject  the  councils 
of  the  Holy  Fathers,  and  the  traditions  unani- 
mous with  the  divine  revelation  which  the  Orth- 
odox Catholic  Church  with  veneration  preserv- 
eth;  those  who  defame  and  blaspheme  the  holy 
icons  which  the  Holy  Church  useth  to  remem- 
ber the  works  of  God  and  of  His  Saints,  so  that 
they  who  look  upon  the  same  may  be  incited  to 
fear  God  and  to  imitate  what  they  see;  and 
those  who  say  the  icons  are  idols." 

It  may  be  necessary  before  we  proceed  to  ex- 
plain the  word  anathema;  it  means  condemn- 
ation and  excommunication  until  restored  after 
sincere  repentance.  In  some  cases  it  may  not 
be  only  a  temporal  ban,  but  a  curse.  Indeed, 
there  are  some  members  of  the  Church  to-day. 
Christians,  who  do  not  fully  realize  that  the 
Church  of  Christ  is  a  living  organism,  which, 
through  the  supernatural  indwelling  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  exists  as  a  moral  being,  empowered 


SERMON   PREACHED   ORTHODOX   SUNDAY.     113 

within  her  sphera  not  only  to  bless,  but  also  to 
curse.  Such  ones  of  course  do  not  read  the 
Bible.  Those  who  studied  the  Epistles  of  the 
Apostles  know  that  it  was  required  of  the  Cor- 
inthians ti  2Jut  aivay  from  among  themselves 
that  loicked  person  (1  Cor.  v:  13).  Likewise  the 
command  was  given  to  Titus,  hear:  A  man  that 
is  an  heretic  after  the  first  and  second  admoni- 
tion reject  (Tit.  iii:  10).  Did  not  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  say:  If  thy  brother  neglect  to  hear 
the  Church,  let  him  he  to  thee  as  an  heathen 
man  and  a  publican'^  (Matt,  xviii:  17.)  And 
again  our  Lord  speaks:  Whatsoever  ye  shall 
bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heacenj  and 
whatsoever  ye  shall  loose  on  earth  shall  be 
loosed  in  heaven  (Matt,  xviii:  18). 

Since  the  time  of  this  council  which  we  have 
just  now  been  considering,  the  Church,  annually, 
until  our  day  "has  celebrated  the  triumph  of 
Truth  over  heresy,  and  blessed  the  memory  of, 
as  well  as  commended  the  work  of  all  them  that 
by  words,  writings,  teachings,  and  sufferings,  as 
also  by  a  life  well-pleasing  to  God,  have  con- 
tended for  Orthodoxy  as  her  defenders  and 
helpers."  Among  tiiose  now  living  are  named: 
The  Royal  and  Imperial  Benefactors,  the  Ortho- 
dox Patriarchs  of  Constantinople,  Alexandria, 
Antioch,and  Jerusalem,  the  Holy  Synods  of  the 


114       PEEACHING  IN  THE  RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

Russian  and  other  Orthodox  Churches,  the  Most 
Reverend  Bishops,  the  Reverend  Clergy,  all 
right-believing  Christians  who,  through  saving 
faith  and  good  works,  are  expecting  everlasting 
blessedness.  Thus  the  Church  to-day  in  most 
of  the  Diocesan  cathedrals  throughout  the 
world,  while  joyfully  praising  aud  honoring 
them  that  suhmitted  their  understanding  to  the 
obedience  of  the  Divine  revelcdion^  and  have 
contended  for  the  same  by  following  the  Holy 
Scriptures  and  holding  fast  the  traditions  of  the 
primitive  Church,  at  the  same  time  "  humbly 
supplicates  Almighty  God  for  those  who,  by 
heresy  or  by  schism,  have  set  themselves  against 
His  evangelical  truth  that  He  may  soften  their 
hearts,  open  their  ears  that  they  may  recognize 
His  voice,  heal  their  corruptions  and  deliver 
them  out  of  error." 

When  we  see  how  the  Lord  of  creation  and 
the  Shepherd  of  His  elect  flock  has  preserved 
His  Church  undefiled  and  whole  through  long 
ages  of  the  most  terrible  temptations,  and  when 
we  hear  the  prophet  cry  out  that  God  luills 
no  one  to  he  lost,  but  that  all  may  come  to  re- 
pentance and  to  the  understanding  of  truth,  we 
can  not  else  but  cry  out:  Who  is  so  great  a 
God  as  our  God  f  Thou  art  the  God  that  alone 
doest  wonders. 


SERMON  PREACHED  ON  THE  THIRD 
SUNDAY  OF  GREAT  LENT. 

Who.'foever  will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and 
take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me.     (Mark  viii.  34). 

THIS  third  Sunday  of  Great  Lent  is  the  first 
day  of  the  Holy  Cross  week.  In  tlie  midst 
of  this  holy  season  the  Church  allows  her  chil- 
dren to  taste  of  the  sweetness  of  the  tree.  In 
the  course  of  his  forty  days'  journey  over  the 
solitary  wilderness  of  penance,  the  weary  way- 
farer comes  to  a  tree,  its  shade  inviting,  its  fruit 
beneficial.  He  throws  off  his  burden,  with  com- 
posure and  confidence  he  nestles  at  the  foot  of 
the  wood,  and  is  refreshed.  And  this  is  just 
what  the  Church  of  God  prepares  for  the  sin- 
cere followers  of  Jesus  Christ.  Were  we  capable 
of  understanding  the  Almighty's  plan,  carried 
out  by  the  Church  for  our  salvation,  what  con- 
solation and  benefit,  both  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral, would  be  ours. 

Whosoever  will  come  after  me,  lei  him  deny 
himself,  and  take  np  his  cross  and  follow  me. 
This  is  what  Jesus  said  to  the  multitude  that 


116       PREACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

followed  him.  They  followed  Him,  some  from 
curiosity,  anxious  to  see  a  miracle  performed, 
others  in  earnest,  eager  to  listen  to  the  words 
that  came  from  the  lips  of  Him,  who  ianqht  as 
one  having  the  poiver,  while  there  were  thrse 
which  followed  in  humble  obedience,  grateful 
tor  the  charity  bestowed  on  them,  or  on  their 
loved  ones,  by  the  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  and, 
alas !  there  v>^ere  some  that  dogged  every  step  of 
this  Good  Shepherd^  who  led  his  human  flock 
over  the  green  hills  of  Galilee,  or  quenched 
their  thirst  with  living  tvater  down  in  the  valley 
of  Jordon,  spies — which  were  to  take  Him  and 
put  Him  to  a  horrible  death — nailing  Him  hands 
and  feet  to  a  crossed  wood.  As  he  turned  to- 
ward the  people  He  addressed  them,  saying  : 
For  what  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  shall  gain 
the  tvhole  icorld  and  lose  his  oicn  soul.  Who- 
soever shall  be  ashamed  of  me  and  of  my  icords 
in  this  adulterous  and  sinful  generation,  of  him 
also  shall  the  So7i  of  Man  he  ashamed  ivhen  he 
cometh  in  the  glory  of  his  Father  with  the  holy 
angels  (Mark  viii:  36,  38). 

Jesus  has  nowadays  many  followers  desirous 
of  consolation,  but  few  of  tribulation.  All  de- 
sire to  rejoice  with  Him,  few  are  willing  to 
endure  anything  for  Him.     Many  reverence  His 


SERMON   TREACHED   ON   THIRD   SUNDAY.      117 

miracles,  few  follow  the  i^nomiDy  of  His  cross. 
What  cross  is  it  which  our  Lord  would  have 
us  hear?  Hardships,  sickness,  slander,  perse- 
cutions, poverty,  desertion  of  friends,  the  heavy 
cares  of  public  responsibility,  yea — and  death 
itself.  We  may  for  a  time  be  forsaken  of  God; 
sometimes  we  are  troubled  by  our  neighbors, 
yea — and  by  those  whom  we  love  dearly;  and 
what  is  more,  oftentimes  we  may  even  become 
weary  of  ourselves.  If  Christ  bore  the  cross 
for  all  mankind,  Christians  are  expected  to  help 
carry  the  cross  of  at  least  some  of  their  neigh- 
bors. But  how?  By  bearing  in  patience  the 
failings  and  weakness  of  our  neighbor.  By  not 
becoming  ill-tempered  when  a  brother  or  sister 
sets  forth  his  or  her  opinion  as  to  this  or  that. 
By  hushing  the  serpent's  hiss  of  envy,  and 
showing  sympathy  and  gladness  when  one  either 
above  or  beneath  us  proves  himself  w^orthy  of 
public  praise,  though  we  ourselves  may  not  be 
so  much  as  noticed.  By  denying  ourselves  the 
wicked  pleasure  of  making  jest  of  a  soul  which 
goes  about  acting  strangely,  and  especially  when 
we  do  not  understand  nor  see  plainly  the  results 
of  such  conduct.  By  denying  ourselves  the 
luxuries  which  may  supply  the  want  of  many 
who  suffer  misery. 


118        PEEACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

Whosoever  ivill  come  after  me,  let  him  deny 
himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  and  folloic  me 
(Mark  viii:  34).  O  how  powerful  is  tbe  pure 
love  of  Jesus,  which  is  mixed  with  no  self- 
interest,  with  no  self-love  !  Are  not  those  to  be 
called  mercenary  who  are  ever  seeking  conso- 
lations? The  Holy  Fathers  of  the  Church  tell 
us  that  "  such  are  lovers  of  themselves,  but  not 
of  Christ.  Where  shall  one  be  found,  the  Holy 
Fathers  continue,  who  is  willing  to  serve  God 
for  naught?"  In  their  great  fervor  to  serve,  in 
their  deep  and  vast  love  for  God,  the  Holy 
Fathers  had  not  noticed  how  they  themselves 
were  growing  into  perfection  by  following  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Yes,  in  their  persons  and 
lives  we  have  many  types  and  good  examples 
unto  the  salvation  of  our  souls;  yea,  and  unto 
the  salvation  of  the  world.  And  so  we  must 
lose  all  that  which  unites  us  to  this  world  that 
is  passing  away.  If  we  link  our  life  with  and 
make  it  one  with  that  of  the  common  animal, 
subject  our  reason  to  vain  pursuits  and  the  bet- 
ter qualities  of  our  spirit  to  passions  of  the  flesh, 
then  we  lose  our  life,  for  dust  ivill  go  to  dust. 
But  lohosoever  shall  lose  his  life  for  the  sake 
of  Christ  and  the  Gospel,  the  same  shall  save  it; 
i.  e.,  he  who  is  dead  to  self,  when  one  becomes 


SERMON  PREACHED  ON  THIRD  SUNDAY.   119 

separated  from  tlie  principles  which  make  one 
h)Dg  for  the  pleasure  and  desire  of  this  world's 
life,  in  which  there  is  no  thought  for  eternity, 
the  same  shall  save  his  life,  though  he  seem- 
ingly perish  in  discomfort  and  suffer  banish- 
ment at  the  hands  of  a  self-idolizing  society,  for 
he  lives  through  Christ  and  the  Gospel  with  the 
spiritual  life  which  never  grows  old  and  is  ever- 
lasting. 

Daring  the  whole  of  this  week  the  Church  is 
continually  reminding  us  of  the  cross.  And 
many  a  weary  soul  is  sighing  for  rest.  .  ,  . 
Shall  my  burden  be  lessened?  There  seems  to 
be  for  some  no  end  to  sickness.  The  cares  of 
duty  are  constant  and  heavy.  There  are  those 
which  cannot  find  a  friend  who  could  under- 
stand their  inmost  soul  and  soothe  their  troubled 
conscience.  Oh!  that  God  would  give  me  that 
inward  peace,  they  cry  without  faith  and  in  de- 
spair. Deny  yourself  all  passions  which  are 
prompted  by  selfish  motives  and  by  interests, 
which  will  pass  away  as  the  light  of  day  is  lost 
in  the  darkness  of  night;  deny  these  passions 
all  gratification  whatever.  What  a  hard  lot ! 
you  might  say.  The  circumstances  surround- 
ing our  lives  are  very  pressing.  .  .  .  What  will 
people  say?  We  must  keep  up  with  the  rest  of 
the  world.     We  are  in  a  pitiable  condition.    No 


120        PREACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

one  should  criticise  us.  We  should  be  left  to 
do  as  we  please.  But  the  Church  says  we  must 
give  up  the  pleasure  of  being  even  a  little 
ambitious.  Yes,  the  Church  of  Christ  says: 
Forsake  all  false  ambition.  Christians,  be  not 
discouraged.  The  Infinite  Wisdom  itself  watches 
over  your  salvation.  In  selfishly  moping  over 
our  own  woes,  over  our  little  cross,  have  we  for- 
gotten the  Cross  of  Christ?  The  Church,  then, 
will  remind  us  of  it. 

This  week  is  set  aside  for  the  w^orship  of  the 
cross.  Here  is  the  tree  of  life.  The  cross  that 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  carried  to  Mount  Calvary 
and  made  it  an  altar,  on  which  He  offered  him- 
self up  to  God  the  Father  as  a  sacrifice.  Let  us 
come  to  the  shade  of  this  tree  and  rest.  This  wood 
has  been  planted  for  our  own  benefit.  Let  us  in 
holy  meditation  bring  to  our  mind  the  suffering 
of  that  bleeding  form  outstretched  above  us, 
although  it  is  difficult  and  for  some  impossible 
to  feel  for  one  moment  the  anguish  of  that 
cross,  borne  all  the  weary  way  from  Bethlehem; 
then  our  little  crosses,  which  we  have  merited 
by  our  sins,  will  not  be  a  yoke  of  thorns,  but 
an  altar  on  which  we  may  offer  up  to  God  our 
love.  Our  course  is  not  finished.  The  road  lies 
before.  .  .  .  Lent  is  still  in  season.  Now,  while 
we  enjoy  the  protection  of  the  cross,  let  us  also 


SERMON   PREACHED   ON   THIRD   SUNDAY.      121 

supply  ourselves  with  strength,  i.  e.,  the  Grace 
of  God,  for  the  journey  is  not  finished  and 
the  way  is  so  uncertain.  Let  us  refresh  and 
strengthen  ourselves  with  a  supply  of  the  fruit 
of  the  wood.  The  fruit  is  the  flesh  and  blood 
of  our  Saviour,  who  was  sacrificed  in  order  to 
appease  the  righteous  wrath  of  the  Infinite  God 
for  the  sins  of  all  mankind,  beginning  with  the 
disobedience  of  Adam.  Shall  not  our  Creator 
receive  us  when  we  humbly  and  gratefully  come 
to  Him  together  with  His  infinitely  beloved, 
His  Only-begotten,  as  {he  Light  which  is  of 
Light,  His  Son  Jesus  Christ? 

Christians,  ye  who  come  to  this  tree,  go  not 
away  without  tasting  of  its  sweet  fruit.  Our 
Holy  Church  brings  us  this  week  to  the  cross 
to  be  refreshed  by  renewing  our  spirit,  so  that 
our  own  cross  be  not  a  burden  but  a  blessing. 
Do  we  forget  our  duty  towards  our  Mother 
Church?  Yes,  unfortunately  some  do.  May  we 
not  let  go  unheeded  the  advice  of  the  parent, 
which  has  given  us  birth  in  baptism  for  a  new 
life,  but  come  to  the  foot  of  the  cross  and  cast 
off  our  yoke  of  sins,  be  absolved  of  all  that 
which  is  impure  and  wicked,  either  in  thought, 
or  in  desire,  or  in  deed,  by  confession,  and  in 
holy  communion  with  Jesus  Christ  be  recon- 
ciled to  God.     Amen. 


SERMON  FOR  THE  FOURTH  SUNDAY 
IN  GREAT  LENT. 

For  He  {Jesus)  taught  His  disciples,  and  said  unto 
them:  the  Son  of  Man  is  delivered  up  into  the  hands  of 
men,  and  they  shall  kill  Him;  and  when  He  is  killed, 
after  three  days  He  shall  rise  again.    (Mark  ix:  31). 

CHRIST  the  Saviour,  having  spoken  the  sor- 
rowful word  that  ihey  shall  kill  Him,  adds 
the  joyful  ones  that  He  on  the  third  day  shall 
rise  again,  concluding  thus  that  we  may  know 
that  after  sorrows  there  always  follows  happi- 
ness. If  there  were  no  temptations  there  would 
be  no  crown,  no  hardships,  no  rewards;  were 
there  no  conflicts,  nor  would  there  be  any  hon- 
ors, no  sorrows,  no  comforts;  if  there  were  no 
winter  there  would  be  no  summer. 

And  this  we  may  observe  not  only  in  people, 
yet  also  in  the  seeds  which  are  thrown  into  the 
earth;  and  here  a  heavy  rain  and  much  cold  are 
necessary,  so  that  a  stem  spring  up  green,  bear- 
ing its  ear  of  plenty.  Let  us  sow  also  in  the 
time  when  spiritual  misfortune  visits  us  that  we 
may  reap  in  the  summer;  let  us  sow  tears  that 


SERMON   FOR   THE   FOURTH   SUNDAY.         123 

we  may  reap  happiness.  According  to  the 
Prophet  of  God :  They  that  sow  in  tears  shall 
reap  in  joy  (Ps.  cxxiii:  5).  Not  so  beneficial 
is  the  rain  which  pours  over  the  seeds  as  the 
rain  of  tears,  which  gives  the  power  of  growth 
and  ripens  the  seed  of  piety.  As  the  tiller  of 
the  soil  cuts  deep  into  the  earth  with  his  plow, 
preparing  a  safe  place  for  the  seed  that  they 
may  hide  in  the  very  bowels  of  the  earth  and 
safely  take  root,  thus  also  should  we  with  mis- 
fortune and  sadness,  as  with  a  plow,  touch  the 
depths  of  our  heart. 

The  holy  Prophet  would  convince  us  thus, 
saying:  Tear  open  your  hearts  hut  not  your 
garments.  Let  us  tear  open  our  hearts  so  that, 
if  there  be  any  evil  plant  or  evil  thought  within 
us,  we  may  pluck  it  out  with  the  root  and  cleanse 
the  field  for  seeds  cf  holy  devotion.  Lf  we  do 
not  renew  the  field  now,  if  we  do  not  sow  now, 
if  we  do  not  shed  tears  now,  when  it  is  Lent — 
in  this  time  of  sorrow  and  fast — at  what  other 
time,  then,  shall  we  be  afilicted  ?  Can  it  be  in 
the  time  of  ease  and  pleasure?  No,  it  cannot 
be  then,  for  ease  and  pleasure  lead  to  careless- 
ness, while  sorrow  compels  the  soul,  which  is 
beset  with  many  attractions  on  all  sides,  to  look 
within  itself. 

The  farmer  having  sown  the  seeds,  which  he 


124       PEEACHING  IN  THE  RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

gathered  with  much  labor,  prays  for  rain;  and 
one,  not  knowing  the  work,  with  amazement 
looks  upon  all,  and,  perhaps,  thinks  so  within 
himself  :  "What  is  that  man  doing?  He  throws 
away  that  which  he  gathered;  but  not  that  only, 
he  yet  carefully  mixes  it  with  the  earth;  and 
that  is  not  all,  for  he  prays  that  what  he  has 
sown  may  decay."  Quite  contrarily  does  the 
farmer  when  he  sees  the  coming  clouds  over- 
shadow the  sky  he  rejoices,  for  he  does  not  look 
at  the  present,  but  to  the  future;  he  does  not 
tliiak  of  the  thunder,  but  of  the  sheaves;  not  of 
the  decaying  seeJ3,butof  the  yellow  ripe  stalks. 
Thus  should  we  look,  not  at  the  sorrow  of  the 
present,  but  at  the  benefit  which  is  derived  from 
it.  If  we  be  on  our  guard,  we  w^ill  not  only 
suffer  no  evil  from  sorrow,  but  derive  much  con- 
solation; but  if  we  be  careless,  the  very  enjoy- 
ment of  quiet  will  turn  to  be  hurtful  for  us.  To 
the  careless  one  thing  and  another  is  evil,  but 
to  the  diligent  one  thing  and  another  is  profit- 
able. As  gold  retains  its  brightness  when  it  lies 
in  the  water,  and  becomes  still  brighter  when  it 
is  cast  into  the  furnace,  so  we  see  the  very  oppo- 
site when  if  clay  and  straw  are  put  into  water; 
the  one  dissolves,  the  other  rots.  Now  this  is 
just  the  case  with  the  righteous  and  the  sinner; 
the  first  living  in  quiet  remains  bright  like  the 


SERMON   FOR   THE   FOURTH   SUNDAY.         125 

gold  which  was  put  into  the  water,  and  being 
afliicted  with  temptation  becomes  brighter  still, 
as  the  gold  which  passed  through  the  fires  of 
the  refinery.  But  the  sinner,  although  enjoying 
ease,  dissolves  and  decays,  as  the  straw  and  clay 
thrown  into  water  or  the  furnace,  where  it  burns 
and  perishes. 

Let  us  not  be  sad  for  present  misfortune.  If 
you  have  any  sins,  they  will  be  easily  uprooted 
by  sorrow,  xind  if  you  are  the  possessor  of  a 
virtue,  it  will  become  brighter  for  having  under- 
gone temptation.  If  you  will  continually  watch, 
you  will  be  beyond  the  reach  of  harm,  as  the 
cause  of  falling  generally  is  not  the  kind  of 
a  temptation,  but  the  carelessness  of  those 
tempted.  And  so,  if  you  would  enjoy  quiet,  do 
not  seek  pleasure,  but  strive  to  make  your  soul 
capable  of  being  patient,  because  if  this  quality 
is  wanting  in  you,  you  will  not  only  be  con- 
quered by  temptation,  but  sooner  fall  a  prey  to 
the  spirit  of  desolation  which  ease  will  bring 
upon  you.  As  the  storms  of  wind  do  not  uproot 
a  strong  wood  with  its  roots,  but  on  the  contrary 
from  constant  blowing  on  from  all  sides  it  be- 
comes firmer,  so  does  the  holy  soul,  although 
overwhelmed  with  afflictions,  it  bends  not,  but 
becomes  invigorated  with  a  higher  energy.  How 
might  we,  a  generation  of  the  New  Covenant, 


126       PREACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

become  justified  and  forgiven  when  we  with 
difficulty  overcome  human  temptations,  while 
Job,  the  much  afflicted,  outbore  with  such  alac- 
rity a  most  sore  temptation  in  the  days  before 
Grace,  of  the  Old  Dispensation? 

Are  you  sad,  beloved,  because  the  Most  Good 
Provider  through  sorrowing  brought  you  to  the 
thought  of  eternal  salvation?  God  can  put  an 
end  to-day  to  all  troubles;  but  He  will  not  de- 
stroy sorrow  until  He  sees  a  change  in  us,  until 
repentance  really  and  strongly  works  within  us. 
The  goldsmith  will  not  take  the  metal  from  the 
fire  before  it  is  purified,  and  God  will  not  with- 
draw the  tempest  clouds  before  we  are  perfected 
by  corrections.  He  who  sends  the  affliction 
knows  when  the  time  comes  to  hold  its  stay. 
A  player  of  the  cithern  does  not  tighten  too 
much  the  strings,  else  they  snap,  nor  does  he 
freely  loosen  them,  else  the  harmony  •  »f  sound 
be  lost.  So  does  the  Lord  with  our  souls,  which 
He  will  not  leave  in  continual  ease,  nor  in  ever- 
lasting sorrow,  ordering  the  one  and  the  other 
according  to  His  wisdom.  The  Almighty  does 
not  allow  us  to  enjoy  quiet  without  a  change 
that  we  may  not  become  more  careless;  nor 
does  He  keep  us  ever  in  sorrow  that  we  may  not 
fall  in  despair.  Since  we  are  occupied  with  this 
question,  let  us  decide  to  wait  for  our  Heavenly 


SERMON    FOR   THE   FOURTH   SUNDAY.  127 

Father's  own  time  for  putting  an  end  to  troubles, 
while  we  ourselves  will  pray  and  lead  a  life  of 
devotion  :  because  to  turn  to  righteousness  and 
live  in  the  faith  belongs  to  our  obligation,  but 
to  quiet  our  sorrow  is  the  work  of  God.  God 
who  is  mightier  than  you,  who  are  afflicted  in 
temptation,  desires  to  quench  that  fire,  but  He 
waits  for  your  salvation.  Therefore,  as  sorrow 
is  begotten  from  ease,  likewise  we  should  wait 
for  sorrow  to  give  us  quiet.  It  is  not  always 
winter,  nor  always  summer ;  the  tempest  does 
not  always  blow, nor  does  the  quiet  always  last; 
it  is  not  always  night,  nor  all  one  day.  Thus 
also  with  us  when  we  are  sad,  a  change  comes, 
we  feel  lighter,  our  hope  is  stronger — if  we  pray 
and  in  time  of  sorrow  continually  thank  God. 

And  so  let  us  enclose  ourselves  on  all  sides 
with  truly  good  and  charitable  works,  and 
thereby  be  saved  from  the  anger  of  God.  Let 
us  make  the  members  of  our  body  the  organs 
of  righteousness ;  let  us  teach  the  whole  body 
to  serve  only  the  cause  of  virtue.  Then  we  will 
be  delivered  from  present  dangers,  appease  the 
Most  High,  and  reach  that  inexpressible  bliss, 
of  which  may  we  all  be  made  worthy  by  the 
Grace  and  love  for  us  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
through  Whom  be  glory  to  the  Father  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  now,  ever  and  forever.     Amen. 


THOUGHTS  FOE  GOOD  FRIDAY  AT  THE 
PASSIONS  AND  BUEIAL  OF  CHEIST. 

IT  was  our  earnest  desire  to  pursue  the  story 
of  our  Saviour's  trials  and  His  crucifixion; 
but  when  I  looked  on  Him  whom  they  pierced, 
my  spirit  failed  before  the  terrible  sight ;  I 
could  not  watch  tvith  Him  another  hour,  and  yet 
I  could  not  leave  the  hallowed  scene.  It  seemed 
as  though  I  saw  Him  brought  back  from  Herod 
where  the  soldiers  mocked  Him.  I  followed 
Him  through  the  streets  again  as  the  cruel 
priests  pushed  through  the  wild  crowd  and 
hastened  Him  back  to  Pilate's  court.  My  ears 
sounded  with  the  cry  :  Crucify  Him,  crucify 
Him!  Give  us  Barahhas^  the  rohher;  let  Bar  ab- 
bas go;  but  Christ,  the  Kifig  of  the  Jews,  Jesus, 
the  Saviour,  He  must  die  !  And  there  He  stood, 
ivho  loved  me  and  gave  Himself  for  me,  like  a 
lamb  in  the  midst  of  wolves,  with  none  to  pity 
and  none  to  help  Him. 

As   Jesus    Christ  hung    apparently  helpless 
upon  the  cross,  He  had  only  to  utter  the  word, 


THOUGHTS   FOR   GOOD   FRIDAY.  129 

and  in  a  moment  more  than  twelve  legions  of 
angels  (what  an  invincible  force  of  energetic 
beings ! )  would  be  ready  to  succor  and  defend. 
But  to  have  shunned  all  pain  and  anguish,  to 
have  refused  the  cup  which  His  Father  had 
given  Him,  to  have  rejected  the  cross  —  this 
would  have  been  to  leave  man  to  his  doom;  this 
He  could  not  do.  And  so,  He  saved  others, 
Himself  He  could  not  save. 

Our  Lord  for  a  long  time  bore  His  cross,  as 
though  He  felt  not  its  weight;  even  from  the 
time  of  the  most  helpless  age  of  humanity,  when 
He  was  born  in  the  smallest  town  of  the  smallest 
kingdom  on  the  earth,  when  there  w^as  no  home, 
no  cradle  for  Him,  and  when,  except  His  humble 
mother  with  her  guardian,  none  but  a  few  shep- 
herds took  any  interest  in  His  birth.  He  bore 
His  cross  till  at  length  He  was  completely  de- 
livered up  on  it.  We  could  not  follow  Jesus 
throughout  in  His  earthly  life.  During  these 
holy  days  we  have  but  endeavored  to  follow  Him 
only  through  a  few  of  the  last  scenes  of  His 
entire  sacrifice.  In  a  measure  we  understand, 
and  we  feel  in  His  sufferings,  as  His  body,  in  its 
weight  drooped,  being  sustained  but  by  four 
nails,  as  the  cross  was  raised  over  the  multitude 
of  people  on  the  hill  and  then  the  shock  as  it 


130       PKEACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

went  down  into  its  socket.  Only  a  cliosen  few, 
and  likewise  in  a  small  measure  can  they  under- 
stand how  He  —  who  prayed,  Faiher  forgive 
them,  for  ihey  knoiv  noi  ivhat  they  do  —  has 
stretched  out  his  arms  on  the  wood  in  order  to 
embrace  a  sinful  world.  But  no  mortal  knoweth 
how  fhe  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word 
icas  God.  The  Word  of  God  is  not  bound  by 
death.  As  a  word  from  the  lips  dies  not  entirely 
awa}^  at  the  moment  its  sound  ceases,  but  rather 
gathers  new  strength,  and  passing  through  the 
senses  penetrates  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the 
hearers,  so  also  the  Hypostatical  Word  of  God, 
the  Son  of  God,  in  His  saving  incarnation, 
whilst  dying  in  the  flesh,  ^ZZs  all  things  ^iih. 
His  spirit  and  might.  Thus  when  Christ  waxeth 
faint  and  becometh  silent  on  the  cross,  then  is  it 
that  heaven  and  earth  raise  their  voice  unto  Him, 
and  the  dead  preach  the  resurrection  of  the 
crucified,  and  the  very  stones  cry  out.  A^id  the 
sun  icas  darkened,  and  the  veil  of  the  temple 
was  rent  in  the  midst;  and  the  earth  did  qnake 
and  the  rocks  rent;  and  the  graves  were  opened, 
and  many  bodies  of  the  saints  ichich  slept  arose. 
O  sinful  man,  O  nature,  bereft  of  perfection. 
O  reason,  a  mind  earthly  winged,  down  low, 
stoop  thou  under  cover  of  repentant  shame  be- 


THOUGHTS   FOR   GOOD   FRIDAY.  131 

fore  the  light  of  this  grave.  Christian,  there  is 
no  other  place  for  thee  to-day  but  by  the  Cross 
of  Christ.  "  Broken  and  distributed  is  the  Lamb 
of  God,  which  is  broken,  yet  not  severed,  which 
is  ever  eaten,  yet  never  consumed,  but  sanctify- 
ing those  that  participate."  Therefore  come,  ye 
sons  of  toil  and  ye  daughters  of  Eve;  come, 
come,  ye  citizens  of  the  easy-going  wide  world; 
see,  His  side  is  now  and  forever  opened  for  us. 
O  mother,  sufferest  thou  for  thy  children  ?  Bring 
them  to  the  tomb  of  Jesus  and  quiet  thyself  in 
the  stillness  of  His  silence.  Brother,  sister, 
behold  in  the  Saviour  thy  kinsman.  And  thou 
poor,  lonely  wanderer,  here  He  quietly  lies  in 
one  place  that  thou  mayest  find  Jesus,  thy  only 
Friend.  We  come,  who  labor  in  Thy  infinite 
sorrow  for  the  sins  of  mankind,  we  who  are 
heavy  laden  with  our  infirmities,  we  come  and 
supplicate  before  Thy  breathless  form. 

Uniting  all  things  in  one,  grant  that  we  all 
may  inseparably  be  one  with  Thee  and  Thy 
Father,  O  Lord  Jesus  Christ !  Thou  that  recon- 
cilest  all,  grant  that  all  may  be  of  one  mind  in 
faith  and  in  love  toward  Thee.  Thou  that  bears 
not  with  the  envious  and  contentious,  destroy  all 
wicked  heresy  and  separations.  O  Jesus  !  Thou 
that  lovest  and  pitiest,  gather  into  one  flock  all 


132        PKEACHING  IN  THE  RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

wandering  sheep.  Thou  that  givest  peace  to  all, 
still  the  voice  of  spite  and  dispute  among  those 
who  call  upon  Thy  name.  Thou  who  communi- 
catest  to  us  the  very  Body  and  very  Blood  of 
Thyself,  grant  that  we  truly  be  flesh  of  Thy 
flesh  and  bone  of  Thy  bones.  O  Jesus,  the  God 
of  our  hearts,  unite  us  with  Thee,  now  and  for- 
ever.    Amen. 


SEKMON  ON  THE  GOSPEL  RELATING 
TO  THE  IMPOTENT. 

John  v:  15. 

JESUS  went  up  to  Jerusalem.  These  are  the 
words  which  begin  the  Gospel  appointed  to 
be  read  at  the  Liturgy  on  this  Sunday.  How 
many  thousands  must  have  hurried  to  those 
feasts  in  honor  of  the  One  iriie  God,  in  that 
splendid  city  of  types  and  symbols  of  things 
not  yet  made  clear,  and  to  be  manifested  in  the 
midst  of  pagan  and  barbarous  nations  !  It  must 
have  been  a  great  multitude  that  almost  continu- 
ally icent  up  to  Jerusalem.  So  did  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  go  with  them.  He  was  in  the  crowd, 
sometimes  known,  but  most  often  His  own  re- 
ceived Him  not.  Those  who  went  up  to  Jeru- 
salem in  those  days  went  to  the  only  one  Temple, 
where  the  only  divinely  authorized  priesthood  had 
offered  the  one  acceptable  type  of  the  all-avail- 
able sacrifice.  To  be  understood,  in  plainer  lan- 
guage, we  may  say  of  them  that  they  went  to 
church.  There  is  nothing  extraordinary;  the 
going  is  a  simple  fact  of  going  to  church.     But 


134        PREACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

liow  did  they  go?  Absurd?  Does  it  seem  to 
you  so?  Certainly,  it  seems  that  most  people  go 
along  in  the  same  way.  At  the  bottom  of  the 
movement  which  makes  people  go  somewhere, 
there  is  an  intention,  and  I  think  that  when  peo- 
ple go  to  church  they  go  with  a  fixed  purpose. 
If  you  ask  how  they  go,  with  the  purpose  of 
disclosing  their  one  or  several  intentions,  then  I 
answer  with  the  word  of  God  as  recorded  by 
St.  Paul :  For  ivho  among  men  knoweth  the 
things  of  a  man,  save  the  spirit  of  the  man, 
which  is  in  him?  Even  so  the  things  of  God 
none  knoweth,  save  the  Spirit  of  God.  But  for 
our  edification  and  salvation  on  this  as  well  as 
on  several  other  memorable  occasions,  we  are  per- 
mitted to  see  and  to  learn  how  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  went  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  consequently 
how  He  went  to  Church. 

He  went  to  Jerusalem  at  the  feasts  in  order  to 
give  a  larger  number  of  people  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  and  hearing  the  Truth.  He  went  to 
the  house  of  His  Father,  and  openly  manifested 
His  power  as  the  Son  of  God.  Before  the  doc- 
tors and  lawyers  He  testified  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment prophecies  as  the  Messiah .  He  passed  by  the 
way  of  sufferers  so  that  He  might  help  them,  and 
where  He  was  not  expected,  there  He  was  found. 


THE   GOSrEL   OF  THE   IMPOTENT   MAN.       135 

He  gave  courage  to  those  who  had  lost  hope,  and 
those  who  hoped  on  and  long  He  rewarded  with 
His  grace.  AVhere  an  angel  by  stirring  the 
water  cured  a  sick  one  in  a  year,  He,  the  Lord 
of  Angels,  heals  both  body  and  soul,  be  it  of 
one,  or  a  hundred,  or  a  thousand,  and  now  as 
He  did  then  and  ever  will  as  long  as  one  be 
found  who  will  surrender  himself  as  others  have 
done  :    Lord,  thou  canst  make  me  whole! 

But  let  us  return  to  Bethesda,  not  because  it  is 
the  public  hospital  where  lay  a  multitude  of  the 
needy,  but  because,  as  impotent  folk  ourselves, 
we  will  find  there  on  this  occasion  the  bread  of 
life  and  the  very  source  of  the  never-ending 
stream  of  living  water.  Let  us  follow  Christ 
through  the  five  porches,  where  a  certain  man 
icas  ichich  had  been  thirty  and  eight  years  in 
his  infirmity.  When  Jesus  saw  him  lying,  and 
knew  that  he  had  been  now  a  long  time  in  that 
case,  He  saith  unto  him :  Wouldst  thou  be  made 
whole?  The  sick  man  answered  Him:  Sir,  I 
have  no  man,  ivhen  the  icater  is  troubled,  to  put 
me  into  the  pool;  but  ivhile  I  am  coming  another 
steppeth  doicn  before  me. 

Why  is  it  that  Jesus  passed  by  all  the  others 
and  stopped  by  this  one  ?  He  did  so  in  order  to 
show  His  power  and  also  His  love  for  mankind : 


136      PKEACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHUECH. 

His  power,  because  the  disease  had  become  in- 
curable and  the  weakness  of  the  sick  one  was 
beyond  hope ;  His  loye  for  mankind,  because 
the  Provider  and  Merciful  One,  in  preference  to 
others,  looked  upon  such  who  were  especially 
worthy  of  pity  and  charity.  Let  us  not  quickly 
pass  by  this  place  without  giving  our  attention 
to  the  thirty-eight  years  during  which  this  sick 
one  continued  in  his  weakness.  Let  all  who 
struggle  with  continual  poverty,  or  pass  their 
lifetime  in  sickness,  or  those  who  find  themselves 
in  difficult  and  threatening  circumstances,  or 
cast  down  in  the  storm  and  tempest  of  sudden 
troubles,  let  them  all  hear  of  it.  No  one  can  be 
so  faint-hearted,  so  mean  and  unfortunate  as  not 
to  bear  all  that  happens  to  us  manfully  and 
with  all  cheerfulness,  when  looking  upon  this 
special  one  at  the  watering  place  of  Bethesda. 
If  he  suffered  for  twenty  years,  or  ten,  or  only 
five  years,  would  they  not  be  sufficient  to  break 
the  strength  of  his  soul?  But  he  remains  in 
that  condition  for  thirty-eight  years,  and  does 
not  break  down  in  spirit,  but  shows  great 
p)atience.  Hear  his  wisdom,  for  indeed  a  Chris- 
tian may  lend  ear  to  this  sick  one's  philosojDhiz- 
ing.  Jesus  came  up  and  said  to  him  :  Wouldst 
ilion  he  made  lohole?     Who  does  not  know  such 


THE   GOSPEL   OF  THE   IMPOTENT   MAN.       137 

a  thing?  Why  of  course  the  impotent  desired 
to  become  well.  Then  for  what  reason  does  he 
ask?  Certainly  not  because  of  ignorance:  for 
Him  who  knows  the  secret  thoughts  of  people, 
that  which  was  apparent  and  open  to  all  w^as  to 
Him  the  more  so  simple.  Why  does  He  ask? 
As  He  said  to  the  centurion  :  I  icill  come  and 
heal  him,  not  because  He  did  not  know  at  first 
what  his  answer  would  be,  but  because  foreseeing 
and  knowing  well  the  answer  He  wished  to 
give  the  centurion  the  opportunity  to  disclose 
before  all  his  piety,  which  was  concealed  as 
if  under  a  shadow,  and  to  say  :  Loi'd,  I  am 
not  ivorthy  that  Thou  shouldst  come  under 
my  roof.  So  also  this  impotent,  of  the  nature 
of  whose  answer  He  knew,  the  Lord  asks  does 
he  wished  to  be  healed,  not  because  He  knew 
that  not  himself,  but  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
the  sick  one  a  chance  to  speak  out  of  his  mis- 
fortune and  to  become  a  teacher  of  patience. 
If  the  Savior  had  healed  this  man  silently,  we 
would  have  lost  much  by  not  learning  of  the 
strength  of  his  soul. 

Christ  does  not  rule  the  present  only,  but  He 
offers  to  the  future  also  His  condescending  and 
great  care.  In  the  impotent  He  showed  us  a 
teacher  of  patience  and  courage  for  all  times  to 
come,  having  put  him  to  the  necessity  of  answer- 


138      PREACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

ing  tlie  question  :  Wouldsi  thou  he  made  loliole? 
But  what  of  him?  The  impotent  was  not 
offended;  he  did  not  become  angry;  he  said  not 
to  the  inquirer:  Thou  seest  me  infirm,  thou 
knowest  that  my  sickness  is  of  long  standing, 
and  thou  inquirest,  do  I  desire  to  regain  my 
health?  But  did  you  come  to  laugh  at  my  mis- 
fortunes and  to  make  light  of  other  people's 
troubles  ?  You  know  how  faint-hearted  the  sick 
become  when  they  lay  in  bed  even  one  year;  but 
whose  sickness  lasts  for  thirtj'-eight  years,  does 
it  not  become  natural  for  such  a  one  to  lose  all 
better  knowledge,  wasting  away  in  the  course  of 
so  long  a  time?  The  impotent,  however,  said 
nothing  like  this,  nor  even  thought  of  it,  but  he 
answered  with  much  modesty  :  Sii%  I  have  no 
man,  ivhen  the  ivater  is  troubled,  to  2nd  me  into 
the  pool.  See  how  many  troubles  unitedly 
grieved  this  man  :  his  disease,  his  poverty,  and 
the  absence  of  a  lifting,  a  helping  hand.  While 
I  am  coming,  another  steppeth  down  before  me. 
This  is  that  which  is  the  saddest  of  all,  and  it 
ought  to  have  softened  even  a  stone.  Does  it 
not  seem  as  if  you  can  see  this  man  each  year 
creeping  along  until  he  has  crept  up  to  the  very 
side  of  the  pool,  then  stopping  each  year  just 
before  the  reach  of  a  bright  hope?  And  it  is 
the  more  burdensome,  as  he  experienced  this  not 


THE   GOSPEL   OF   THE   IMPOTENT   MAN.       139 

for  two,  or  three,  or  ten,  but  for  tliirty-eiglit 
years.  He  did  everything  in  his  power,  but  did 
not  obtain  the  result;  the  labor  was  accomplished, 
but  the  reward  for  labor  went  to  another  one 
during  all  these  many  years;  and,  what  is  more 
burdensome,  he  saw  others  healed. 

The  good  fortune  of  others  around  us  compels 
us  to  plainly  see  in  the  contrast  our  own  mis- 
fortune ;  it  was  the  same  then  with  the  imj^otent. 
Nevertheless,  for  so  long  a  time  he  struggled 
with  sickness,  with  poverty,  and  with  loneliness, 
seeing  that  others  were  healed,  while  he  himself, 
although  he  always  tried,  but  never  could  reach 
his  desire,  and  not  hoping  in  the  future  to  liber- 
ate himself  of  suffering,  with  all  this  against 
him  he  did  not  retreat,  but  renewed  his  endeavor 
each  year.  And  we,  if  we  once  pray  to  God  and 
do  not  obtain  what  we  have  asked  for,  we  imme- 
diately become  disappointed  and  fall  into  extreme 
carelessness,  so  that  we  stop  praying  and  lose 
fervor.  May  we  according  to  worth  praise  the 
impotent,  as  we  may  in  the  same  wa}^  condemn 
our  negligence?  What  justification  and  forgive- 
ness may  we  expect  when  he  was  patient  for 
thirty-eight  years,  while  we  become  despondent 
so  soon.  To  this  one  it  has  been  said  :  Arisej 
take  up  ihy  bed  and  walk.  And  if  we  be  or  be 
not  infirm  in  body,  or  soul,  mind,  character,  or 


14:0       PEEACHING   IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

condition,  it  is  in  every  instance  demanded  of  us 
all  to  take  up  our  cross  and  to  follow  Him,  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  with  whom,  after  a  faithful 
following,  w^e  shall  see  ourselves  gloriously  resur- 
rected. 

Because  Jesus  did  these  things  on  the  Sab- 
bath the  Jeios  persecuted  Him.  When  perse- 
cuted for  doing  the  works  which  proclaimed  Him 
to  be  the  Redeemer  of  the  world,  did  our  Lord 
justify  Himself  before  His  enemies  and  prove 
the  Divine  right  of  His  most  exalted  mission? 
If  He  did  not,  then  how  could  we,  even  to  this 
day,  hope  in  our  salvation?  Let  us  see  how 
Jesus,  on  this  occasion,  has  justil&ed  Himself ; 
for  the  manner  in  which  He  proves  His  inno- 
cence shows  us  w^hether  He  belongs  to  the  num- 
ber of  such  who  are  ruled,  or  to  the  free,  to 
those  who  serve,  or  whether  He  is  of  those  who 
command.  His  action  seemed  to  be  a  great 
iniquity,  a  sin  against  the  law ;  for  he  who  once 
gathered  wood  on  the  Sabbath  was  according  to 
the  law  stoned  to  death  for  carrying  a  burden  on 
the  Sabbath  (Num.  xv:  32,  36).  Now  Christ  was 
accused  of  the  same  crime,  namely,  that  He  did 
not  keep  the  Sabbath.  Does  He  ask  forgiveness 
as  a  servant  and  as  a  man  under  subjection,  or 
does  He  appear  as  one  who  has  power  and  inde- 
pendence as  a  Master,  who  is  above  the  law  and 


THE   GOSPEL   OF   THE   IMPOTENT   MAN.       141 

who  Himself  giveth  the  commandments?  How 
does  He  justify  Himself?  My  Father^  says  He, 
workefh  even  until  now,  and  I  work.  Do  you 
see  His  might?  If  He  was  lower  or  lesser  than 
the  Father,  then  what  He  had  said  would  not  be 
counted  in  His  acquittal,  but  it  would  be  to  a 
greater  accusation  and  to  a  greater  condemna- 
tion. If  one  does  something  which  is  lawful  to 
be  done  only  by  one  who  is  above  Him,  and  then 
having  been  taken  and  given  to  judgment,  he 
says  :  as  another  higher  one  has  done  so,  I  also 
have  done  so,  he  would  not  only  free  himself 
from  the  charge  in  this  way,  but  he  would  sub- 
ject himself  to  a  greater  accusation  and  sentence, 
because  to  take  upon  one's  self  that  which  is 
above  one's  dignity  can  be  done  only  by  a  self- 
conceited  and  proud  person.  Therefore,  if  Christ 
was  lower  than  the  Father,  then  what  He  had 
said  would  not  be  to  His  justification,  but  to  a 
greater  condemnation.  But  as  He  is  equal  wiih 
the  Father,  there  is  no  fault  in  the  words  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

To  understand  the  better  what  has  been  said, 
let  us  remember  that  His  disciples  had  once 
broken  the  Sabbath  in  the  field  by  pulling  ears 
of  corn  and  eating  them ;  now  He  violated  it 
Himself ;  the  Jews  accused  them,  and  now  they 
accuse  Him.     We  will  now  investigate  as  to  how 


142       PREACHING  IN   THE  RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

He  clears  them  and  how  He  justifies  Himself,  so 
that  we  may  learn  from  the  difference  between 
one  and  the  other  of  the  superiority  of  His 
justification.  How  did  He  justify  His  disciples  ? 
Have  you  not  read  ivhai  David  did  when  he 
hungered?  (Matt,  xii:  3.)  Defending  creature- 
servants,  He  calls  to  mind  David,  a  fellow-serv- 
ant like  unto  themselves,  but  justifying  Himself 
He  reaches  out  with  His  speech  to  the  Father : 
My  Father  ivorkeih,  and  I  ivork.  Perhaps  some 
one  might  ask  :  What  kind  of  ivork  does  Jesus 
speak  of,  if  after  six  days  God  rested  from  all 
His  iDorksf  (Gen.  ii :  2.)  It  is  the  everyday,  the 
continual  guidance  and  providence,  for  God  not 
only  made  all  nature,  but  He  also  keeps  His 
creation.  Do  you  refer  to  the  angels,  the  arch- 
angels, or  to  the  higher  powers,  and,  in  a  word, 
to  all  things  visible  and  invisible?  Yes,  all  are 
under  His  providence,  and  if  it  would  go  outside 
the  realm  of  His  activity,  then  it  falls  to  pieces, 
becomes  destroyed  and  would  perish.  And  so 
our  Lord,  desiring  to  show  that  He  is  the  pro- 
vider and  not  the  object  of  providence,  the 
worker  and  not  the  object  of  activity.  He  has 
therefore  said  :  My  Father  \forlceih,  and  I  work, 
thereby  proving  His  equality  with  the  Father, 
and  to  whom  with  the  Holy  Ghost  be  all  glory 
now  and  to  ages  of  ages.     Amen. 


SERMON  FOR  THE  SUNDAY  AVHEN  THE 
GOSPEL  OF  THE  BLIND  IS  READ. 

(  Read  first  the  ninth  chapter  of  St.  John.  J 

THIS  is  the  Gospel  for  to-day.  AVliat  lesson 
have  we  to  learn  on  this  day?  We  must 
find  the  substance  in  these  words,  and  feed  on  it, 
for  it  is  spiritual  food.  AVhen  we  have  digested 
this  Divine  food,  it  will  be  assimilated  with  our 
natures,  and  our  humanity  will  become  purer, 
brighter,  stronger,  yea — and  perpetual,  so  long 
as  it  lives  with  the  Word  of  God,  for  hath  not 
the  Savior  Himself  said  when  the  devil  tempted 
Him  who  hungered  in  the  wilderness  :  T/mt 
man  shall  not  live  6y  bread  alone,  hut  by  every 
loord  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God? 
So  then,  have  we  considered  the  Gospel  while 
being  read?  If  so,  we  find  that  the  principal 
subject  of  it  is  the  miracle  which  was  worked  by 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Next,  we  observe  the 
man  who  was  the  object  of  the  miracle,  and 
finally  we  get  a  perspective  of  the  condition. 
The  circumstances  which  surrounded  this  mira- 
cle were  most  unfavorable  for  the  blind  man's 


144      PREACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

confirmation  in  the  faith,  although  he  succeeded 
against  such  materialistic  odds,  and  likewise  for 
an  open  manifestation  of  the  glory  of  the  Won- 
der-worker Himself,  yet  the  greatness  of  which 
became  the  more  conspicuous  as  passion-bound 
opinions,  systems  and  classes  strived  to  over- 
come or,  in  the  least,  to  belittle  it. 

When  1  stop  to  meditate,  it  seems  that  I  am 
transported  to  the  green  hills  of  Judea,  where 
the  common  folk  of  both  hill  country  and  popu- 
lous valley  are  all  astir  with  lively  discussions 
in  the  midst  of  their  every-day  duties,  as  in  their 
homes  they  go  about  to  and  fro,  and,  mind  you, 
it  is  all  about  religion  and  politics;  religion  first 
and  politics  after — insomuch  as  it  is  related  mth 
the  proud  nature  of  a  people,  who  boasted  of 
being  the  chosen  race  of  God,  who  expected  His 
messenger,  and  were  to  be  ruled  by  none  other 
than  the  Messiah  Himself,  unto  all  ages.  It 
was  a  day  of  expectations,  indeed.  The  intellect 
of  the  masses  had  been  sharpened  to  a  turning 
point.  The  very  "times"  themselves  were  full 
with  signs.  Everybody  was  inquiring.  The 
people  willingly  divided  themselves  into  two 
sets:  those  that  taught  and  those  that  were 
taught.  The  nearer  that  some  of  them  had  got- 
ten to  the  truth,  the  more  danger  there  was  of 


THE   GOSPEL   OF  THE   BLIND.  145 

taking  falsehood  for  the  truth,  and  thereby  more 
danger  of  two  blind  men  falling  into  one  pi7. 
Passions,  although  with  a  semblance  of  a  higher 
quality,  yet  human  and  materialistic,  ruled  the 
hour.  In  such  a  midst  Christ,  the  only  true 
teacher  of  men,  had  come.  No  one  condemned 
false  doctrine  so  energetically  as  this  teacher 
had  done,  and  no  one  had  taught  with  such  in- 
vincible strength  and  power  as  He  did.  Now 
the  whole  company  of  teachers  arose  against  this 
One,  and,  notwithstanding  their  divisions,  they 
knew  how  to  agree  in  one  and  the  same  decision 
which  suited  them  all,  and  that  was :  That  He  led 
the  multitude  astray  (John  vii:  12),  He  speak- 
eth  blasphemies  (Luke  v:  21),  He  perverteth 
our  nation  (Luke  xxiii:  2),  and,  at  the  end,  for 
His  teaching  said  they :  He  is  worthy  of  death 
(Matt,  xxvi:  QQ).  But  they  could  not  destroy 
the  work  of  Him,  whom  they  hated,  for  the  peo- 
ple did  see  in  Him  The  Great  Prophet  (Luke 
vii:  16).  Above  His  calling  as  a  teacher,  He 
had  the  merits  of  a  miracle  worker.  What  now 
could  His  angry  enemies  do  or  say  against  this  ? 
Now  they  would  do  as  they  have  done  at  that 
time,  viz:  murdered  Him.  But  His  works  re- 
main, and  for  that  the  glory  of  His  resurrection 
is  the  brighter.     When  the  different  conditions 


146       PKEACHING  IN  THE  RUSSIAN   CHUKCH. 

of  a  changing  world,  together  with  the  many 
representatives  of  opinions  have  exhausted  their 
machinery,  all  their  means,  and  wasted  their  fine 
scholastical  dialectics,  while  the  simple  facts, 
told  by  him  who  had  once  been  blind,  remain  as 
simple  facts,  which  he — w^ho  now  sees — will  not 
renounce,  then  society  answers  and  says  to  the 
followers  of  Jesus  Christ:  "You  were  altogether 
born  in  sins,  and  do  you  teach  us?"  When  Chris- 
tians cannot  be  subdued,  nor  compelled  to  follow 
the  ways  of  politicians  or  the  world  in  general, 
then  they  are  left  all  to  themselves.  Aiid  iJiey 
cast  Him  out. 

The  Son  of  God,  manifesting  His  power  in 
miracles  that  w^e  may  desire  Him  alone  and 
thereby  become  strong  in  faith — this  is  the  les- 
son that  we  are  to  learn  to-day.  Now  the  learned 
tell  us  that  the  nineteenth  century  (which  hap- 
pily is  in  its  death-throes)  requires  "advanced 
thought."  I  wish  the  nineteenth  century  was 
over;  we  have  heard  it  bragged  about  so  much 
that  one  actually  gets  sick  with  the  nineteenth 
century.  We  are  told  that  this  is  too  sensible  a 
century  to  need  or  accept  the  same  Gospel  as  the 
first,  second  and  third  centuries.  Yet  these  were 
the  centuries  of  martj^rs  and  confessors,  the  cen- 
turies of  heroes,  the  centuries  that  conquered  all 


THE   GOSPEL   OF   THE   BLIND.  147 

the  gods  of  Greece  and  Kome,  the  centuries  of 
holy  glory,  and  all  this  because  they  were  the 
centuries  of  the  Gospel.  But  now  we  are  so 
enlightened  that  our  ears,  strange  to  say,  really 
ache  for  something  fresh,  and  under  the  influ- 
ence of  so-called  refined  literature  (how  about 
ordinary  novels?)  our  beliefs  are  dwindling 
down  from  mountains  to  ant-hills,  and  we  our- 
selves from  giants  to  pygmies. 

By  God's  grace  some  of  us  abide  by  the 
Orthodox  Faith,  and  mean  to  preach  the  same 
Gospel  which  the  saints  received  at  first.  It  is 
a  foundation  which  we  dare  not  change.  It  must 
be  the  same,  world  without  end,  for  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever.  Amen. 


SEEMON  ON  THE  FEAST  OF  THE 
ASCENSION* 

And  while  they  looked  steadfastly  toward  heaven  as  He 
went  up,  behold,  two  men  stood  by  them  in  white  apparel, 
which  also  said:  Ye  men  of  Galilee,  why  stand  ye  gazing 
up  into  heaven  f    (Acts  i:  10,  11). 

THE  "  two  men  in  white  apparel,"  who  imme- 
diately after  the  ascension  of  the  Lord  ap- 
peared to  the  Apostles  and  asked  them  why  they 
stood  gazing  up  into  heaven,  were  without  doubt 
themselves  inhabitants  of  heaven;  therefore  it 
is  not  to  be  supposed  that  this  was  displeasing 
to  them,  or  that  they  desired  to  direct  the  gaze  of 
those  men  of  Galilee  elsewhere.  No.  They  de- 
sire only  to  put  an  end  to  the  inert  amazement 
of  the  Apostles  when  saying:  Why  stand  ye 
gazing  up  into  heaven?  Having  aroused  them 
from  their  amazement,  they  draw  them  into  medi- 
tation, and  teach  them  and  us  with  what  thoughts 
we  should  gaze  into  heaven,  following  our  Lord 
Jesus  who  hath  ascended  thither.     This  same 


*  This  sermon  was  written  and  delivered  by  the  author 
a  few  days  after  reading  a  most  beautiful,  but  lengthy, 
sermon  in  the  Russian  language  by  the  celebrated  Met- 
ropolitan Philaret  of  Moscow. 


THE   FEAST   OF   THE   ASCENSION.  149 

Jesus,  tliey  added,  which  is  taken  up  from  you 
info  heaven,  shall  come  in  like  manner  as  you 
have  seen  Him  go  into  heaven. 

The  disciples  of  the  Savior  then  beheld  the 
exact  fulfillment  of  His  words  which  Mary 
Magdalene  had  recounted  to  them:  I  ascend 
unto  my  Father  and  your  Father^  and  to  my 
God  and  your  God.  They  could  not  but  con- 
clude that  those  joyful  visitations  which  He  had 
bestowed  upon  them  during  the  forty  days  after 
His  resurrection  from  the  dead,  those  instructive 
conversations  with  Him,  that  palpable  commun- 
ion between  them  and  His  divine  humanity,  were 
at  that  moment  ended.  When  neither  hand  nor 
voice  could  any  longer  reach  Him,  they  followed 
Him  with  their  eyes,  eager  to  detain  Him;  they 
looked  steadfastly  toivard  heaven  as  He  icent 
up.  We  can  conceive  what  an  immeasurable 
bereavement  the  Apostles  must  have  felt  after 
the  ascension  into  heaven  of  Jesus,  who  was  all 
and  everything  in  the  world  to  them;  and  it  is 
this  very  bereavement  for  which  the  heavenly 
powers  hasten  to  console  them  when  telling  them 
that  this  same  Jesus  .  .  .  shall  come. 

In  considering  the  circumstances  of  the  ascen- 
sion of  Christ  into  heaven,  we  may  first  note  the 
blessing  which  He  then  gave  to  the  Apostles, 


150       PEEACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHUECH. 

and  it  come  to  pass,  says  the  Evangelist  Luke, 
lohile  He  blessed  them  He  was  parted  from 
them  and  carried  up  into  heaven.  What  an  end- 
less current  of  the  grace  of  Christ  is  thus  re- 
vealed unto  us,  Christians  !  The  Lord  begins  a 
blessing,  and  before  its  completion  ascends  into 
heaven;  for  while  He  blessed  them  He  was  car- 
ried up  into  heaven.  Thus  even  after  His  ascen- 
sion does  He  still  continue  invisibly  to  impart 
His  blessing.  It  flows  and  descends  continu- 
ously upon  the  Apostles;  through  them  it  is  dif- 
fused upon  those  whom  they  bless  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ;  those  who  have  received  the 
blessing  of  Christ  through  the  Apostles  spread 
it  among  others ;  and  thus  do  all  who  belong  to 
the  Holy  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church  become 
partakers  of  the  one  blessing  of  Christ.  As  the 
dew  of  Herman  that  descended  upon  the  moun- 
tain of  Zion,  so  does  this  blessing  of  peace  de- 
scend upon  every  soul  that  riseth  above  passions 
and  lusts,  above  vanity  and  the  cares  of  the 
world;  as  an  indelible  seal  does  it  stamp  those 
who  are  of  Christ  in  such  a  manner  that  at  the 
end  of  the  world  He  will  by  this  very  sign  call 
them  forth  from  the  midst  of  all  mankind,  say- 
ing, Come  ye  blessed  ! 

And  now,  my  brethren,  let  us  consider  how 


THE   FEAST   OF   THE   ASCENSION.  151 

needful  it  is  for  us  to  endeavor  to  gain  now  and 
to  preserve  this  blessing  of  the  Ascended  Lord, 
which  descends  upon  us  also  through  the  Apos- 
tolic Church.  If  we  have  received  and  preserved 
it,  we  shall,  at  the  future  advent  of  Jesus  Christ, 
be  called  together  with  the  Apostles  and  the 
saints  to  participate  in  His  kingdom :  Come  ye 
blessed  !  But  if,  when  He  shall  call  ihe  blessed 
of  His  Father,  this  blessing  either  be  not  found 
in  us,  or  we  be  found  in  possession  only  of  the 
false  blessing  of  men  who  themselves  have  not 
inherited  the  blessing  of  the  Heavenly  Father 
by  grace  and  in  the  sacraments,  then  what  will 
become  of  us?  Yea,  I  say,  let  us  consider  this 
vital  point  before  the  opportunity  be  taken  away. 
The  day  of  the  Lord  cometh  as  a  thief  in  the 
night.  From  this  same  unexpectedness  of  His 
second  coming  our  Lord  Himself  draws  for  us 
Christians  a  saving  warning:  Watch,  therefore, 
for  ye  know  not  what  hour  your  Lord  doth  come. 
Do  not  be  led  away  by  curiosity  or  credulity, 
and  beware  of  such  ones  who  pretend  to  know 
more  than  Christ  hath  granted  them  to  know\ 
Let  us  endeavor  rather  to  know  what  failings  we 
have,  to  number  our  transgressions,  and  to  seek 
a  limit  to  them  in  repentance.  Let  us  take  heed 
lest  the  children  of  this  world  and  our  own  pas- 


152       PKEACHING  IN   THE  RUSSIAN   CHUECH. 

sions  lull  our  spirits  into  sleep,  till  the  approach 
of  that  longed  for,  yet  dreadful  hour:  When 
the  Lord  come. 

The  blessing  of  the  Lord  come  upon  you  by 
His  grace  and  love  towards  man,  always,  now, 
and  ever  and  unto  the  ages  of  the  ages. 


SEKMON  PREACHED  ON  TRINITY 
SUNDAY. 

There  are  three  thai  hear  record  in  heaven,  the  Father^ 
the  Word,  and  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  these  three  are  one. 
(lJohnv:7). 

THE  Orthodox  Faith  is  this,  that  we  worship 
One  God  in  Trinity,  and  the  Trinity  in 
Unity,  neither  confounding  the  persons  (hypos- 
tasis), nor  dividing  the  substance  (Symbol 
d'Athanasius).  What  will  it  profit  us  when  we 
study  deeply  concerning  the  Trinity,  if  we  be 
found  lacking  in  humility  and  thereby  are  dis- 
pleasing to  the  Most  Holy  Trinity?  It  is  not 
for  us  to  search  into  the  incomprehensible  mys- 
tery of  Divinity.  If  we  would  approach  any 
where  within  a  reasonable  approach  to  the  Divine 
Mind,  we,  who  are  of  the  lower  ones,  should 
always  endeavor  to  be  pleasing  companions  to 
those  tvho  are  of  the  higher  ones,  so  that  we  may 
fervently  glorify  the  thrice  illumined  Deity  to- 
gether with  the  angels,  singing  with  that  faith, 
which  is  the  assurance  of  things  hoped  for,  the 
e st  of  things  not  seen:  Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord 


154       PREACHING   IN   THE   EUSSIAN   CHUECH. 

of  Sabhaoih,  heaven  and  earth  are  full  of  Thy 
glory. 

"Some  may  say,"  as  St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem 
lias  long  ago  rightly  surmised,  "  if  the  nature  or 
substance  of  God  is  infinite,  then  to  what  pur- 
pose do  we  speak  of  it?  But  shall  I  abstain 
from  taking  water  out  of  the  river  for  my  use, 
though  a  small  measure,  because  I  cannot  drink 
up  the  whole  river?  Is  it  because  my  eyes  can- 
not contain  the  whole  of  the  sun  himself,  I  should 
not,  as  much  as  is  necessary,  make  use  of  the 
daylight?  And  if  I  were  to  enter  some  large 
garden,  the  fruits  of  which  I  could  not  eat  up, 
would  you,  for  this  reason,  have  me  leave  the 
garden  altogether  hungry?"  Indeed  we  need 
the  water,  we  need  the  sunlight,  and  the  fruits 
of  good  endeavor  and  religious  labor  we  enjoy. 
Therefore  we  should,  and  it  is  our  bounden  duty 
to  learn  of  that  knowledge,  which  the  Creator 
has  been  pleased  to  reveal  of  Himself  to  His 
Church,  without  giving  ourselves  to  vain  specu- 
lations^ and  probing  into  mysteries  not  neces- 
sary for  our  temporal  v>^elfare,  much  less  so  for 
our  eternal  salvation;  and  while  not  attainable 
to  our  limited  mind,  sometimes  because  of  the 
presence  of  sinful  pride,  sometimes  on  account 
of  deceit  and  feeble  support   in  false  systems 


SERMON  PREACHED   TRINITY   SUNDAY.        155 

and  individual  schemes,  but  chiefly  because  a 
drop  does  not  contain  the  ocean,  a  particle  of 
creation  cannot  embrace  the  earth,  the  worlds, 
and  that  wisdom  and  power  which  ordered  the 
universe  and  established  the  laws  by  which  it  is 
preserved. 

To  learn  of  the  Supreme  Being  and  concern- 
ing the  Holy  Trinity  in  the  God-head,  we  need 
not  go  far;  the  philosopher  cannot  make  clearer 
the  light  itself;  we  need  not  question  the  astron- 
omer; and  surely  the  majority  of  mankind  only 
become  puzzled  when  they  singly  weigh  the  cor- 
roborations of  the  geologist.  Just  look  around 
and  you  will  see  on  the  space  of  a  few  yards  of 
earth  a  great  quantity  of  heterogeneous  beings 
and  natures,  existing  in  the  same  air  and  by  the 
same  material  food  in  substance  as  we  do;  yet 
some  are  adapted  to  life  in  the  air,  some  move 
only  in  the  water,  and  others  are  subjected  to 
several  certain  limited  forms  of  existence  upon 
the  land,  while  man,  by  his  intellect  and  by  his 
will,  adapts  himself  to  his  surroundings  in  such 
a  measure  that  he  controls  all  other  forms  of 
animal  life,  and  even  overcomes  natural  obstacles 
by  a  force  which  is  above  nature.  Thus  we  see 
man  is  created  in  the  likeness  of  the  Most  High 
Creator. 


156        PREACHING  IN  THE  RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

After  all  these  ages  we  cannot  find  in  the  ad- 
vanced theories  of  modern  literature  an  hypoth- 
esis that  may  compare  with  the  plain  statement 
of  facts  by  the  Holy  Fathers  during  the  first 
centuries  of  Christianity,  as  we  have  them  con- 
cisely epitomized  by  St.  John  of  Damascus.    He 
says:    "The  Divinity  is  indescribable  and  in- 
comprehensible.   For  no  one  knoweth  ilie  Son^ 
hut  the  Father,  and  the  Father  no  one  knoweth 
save  the  Son  (Matt,  xi:  27).     And  also  the  Holy 
Ghost  knoweth  that  which  is  of   God,  as  the 
spirit  of    man  knoweth   the  things   of   a  man 
(1  Cor.  ii:  11).     Beside  the   first  and  blessed 
Being  no  one  ever  knew  God,  unless  God  had 
revealed  Himself  to  some  one ;  no  one,  not  only 
of  mankind,  but  no  one  of  the  celestial  powers, 
nor  of  the  Cherubim  and  Seraphim.     Yet  God 
has  not  left  us   entirely   ignorant  of  Himself. 
The  very  knowledge  of  the  existence  of   God 
the  Creator  has  Himself  implanted  in  our  nature. 
And  creation  itself,  the  government  of  nature 
and  its  preservation  proclaim  the  greatness  of 
God.     Above  this,  first  through  the  law  and  the 
Prophets,  then  through  His  only  begotten  Son, 
our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ,  God  revealed 
to  us  as  much  knowledge  of  Himself  as  we  are 
capable  of  containing.     Therefore,  all  that  has 


SERMON  PREACHED  TRINITY  SUNDAY.   157 

been  given  us  by  the  law,  the  Prophets,  the 
Apostles,  and  the  Evangelists,  we  accept,  acknowl- 
edge, and  respect,  and  we  seek  nothing  more. 
Thus  God,  as  the  Omniscient  One  and  the  Pro- 
vider of  that  which  is  profitable  for  each  one  of 
us,  has  revealed  all  that  is  for  our  good,  and  kept 
in  silence  that  which  we  are  not  capable  of  con- 
taining. Being  satisfied  thereby,  we  will  keep 
to  this,  not  transfixing  the  borders  of  eternity 
and  not  overstepping  Divine  tradition." 

In  the  light  of  Divine  revelation  it  becomes 
clear  to  our  reason  that,  excepting  the  one,  true, 
most  perfect  God,  another  cannot  exist,  because 
the  most  wise,  most  powerful,  the  most  High  and 
perfect  Being  must  be  only  one,  beside  whom 
there  is  no  other. 

The  Christian  Faith  is  the  religion  of  the 
Most  Holy  Trinity.  And  this  is  nowhere  so 
plainly  demonstrated  as  it  is  in  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament.  The  preacher  with  the  hearers 
and  doers  of  the  Word  would  be  unequal  to  the 
task  to  take  up  at  this  moment  for  examination 
the  great  number  of  testimonies  we  have  in  the 
history  of  the  New  Testament  concerning  the 
Orthodox  Faith,  in  which  we  worship  One  God 
in  Trinity  and  the  Trinity  in  Unity.  But  this  is 
not  all.     If  you  turn  to  the  books  of  the  Old 


158       PKEACHING  IN   THE  KUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

Testament,  it  can  be  seen  that  the  Patriarchs  of 
the  nations  and  the  saints  of  old  had  almost  as 
clear  a  conception  of  the  nature  of  God  as  we 
Christians,  and  believing  in  One  God  they  at  the 
same  time  worshipped,  more  or  less  consciously, 
the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  The 
Most  Holy  Trinity,  while  distinct  in  Persons,  is 
of  equal  Divine  Substance,  and  equal  Majesty. 
We  do  not  belittle  the  awful  magnitude  of  this 
Truth  when  we  follow  the  example  of  the  Holy 
Fathers  by  taking  various  illustrations  from 
created  life  to  help  us  in  some  measure  grasp 
this  doctrine  of  the  Divine  Three  in  One,  and 
One  in  Three.  In  man's  soul  the  image  of  God 
is  more  or  less  reflected.  Take  for  instance  the 
memory  which  recalls  the  hour  of  Divine  Lit- 
urgy, the  understanding  which  reasons  upon  the 
duty  of  public  prayer,  or  considers  the  excuses 
that  might  be  pleaded  for  staying  at  home,  and 
then  the  will  which  chooses  one  course  or  the 
other. 

And  now  let  us  remember  that,  although  we 
are  among  the  weakest  members  of  all  creation, 
ive  mciy  become,  hy  being  faithful  ChrisiianSy 
partakers  of  the  Divine  Nature  (2  Peter  i:  4) 
that  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  has 
regenerated  us,  ive  are  all  the  children  of  the 


SERMON   PREACHED   TRINITX  SUNDAY.        159 

Heavenly  Fdiher  and  brethren  to  His  only  he- 
gotten  Son  (John  i:  12, 13,  Luke  xiii:  21).  Thus 
we  may  come  into  the  closest  moral  relations 
with  the  Triune  God  Himself,  if  only,  believing 
in  Him  and  earnestly  drawing  toward  Him  with 
hope,  we  shall  love  Him  with  our  tvhole  heart, 
ivifh  our  whole  soul,  arid  ivith  our  whole  mind 
(Matt,  xxii :  27).  Then,  without  doubt,  the  promise 
of  the  Savior  wall  be  fulfilled  for  us.  Jesus  said  : 
If  a  man  love  me,  he  will  keep  my  word,  and 
my  FMer  will  love  him,  and  ivill  come  uiito 
him,  and  make  our  abode  with  him  (John  xiv:  13). 
x4.nd  then  also  we  will  understand  the  meaning 
of  these  words  of  the  Apostle :  Know  ye  not 
that  ye  are  a  temple  of  God,  and  that  the  Spirit 
of  God  dwelleth  in  you?  (1  Cor.  iii:  16).    Amen. 


THE  CONDITION  OF  SOCIETY. 

HOW  long  will  it  thus  go  on  !  When  will 
the  baptized  become  active  Christians,  so 
that  the  pastors  may  give  their  attention  to  the 
conversion  of  the  heathen?  What  a  terrible 
battle  we  must  fight.  Already  the  fire  of  hell 
is  in  the  world.  Great  cities  are  multiplying 
throughout  the  land.  The  farmer,  as  the  word 
is  defined  in  our  dictionaries,  is  a  thing  of  the 
past.  It  is  now  the  land-owner  with  a  mansion 
in  the  city,  a  yacht  on  the  sea,  and  with  a  private 
train  across  the  continent.  There  are  compara- 
tively but  a  few  laborers  in  the  fields — too  poor 
to  support  families.  The  quiet  country  homes 
are  becoming  few,  shall  I  say  precious?  I  fear 
not  so,  because  people  are  fast  losing  their 
ability  to  rightly  estimate  the  value  of  things. 
Most  of  the  cities  in  all  the  world  are  over- 
crowded. The  female  portion  of  the  population 
is  most  conspicuous.  A  stupid  craze  after 
unwholesome  fashions  is  the  one  all-absorbing 
passion  of  the  majority  of  women.     There  is  no 


THE   CONDITION   OF   SOCIETY.  IGl 

room  for  gardens  and  yards ;  most  of  the  chil- 
dren in  San  Francisco  are  actually  brought  up 
in  the  streets.  Oh,  how  few  of  them  feel  the 
blessed  influence  of  a  Christian  home  !  Young 
men  and  young  women  are  continually  "  on  the 
go,"  as  they  say.  And  this  "  go  "  is  a  nervous, 
unsteady  rush  to  "  keep  up  with  the  times."  And 
after  all  their  hurry  nothing  is  left  but  steam 
and  vapor,  for  they  are  empty,  as  empty  as  the 
changing  and  vanishing  world  can  be.  Yet  they 
fret  and  inquire:  "Where  shall  we  go  to  and 
what  shall  we  see?  What  shall  we  do?  Oh  ! 
what  ccm  we  do?"  If  you  promenade  along  the 
broad  avenue  or  pass  through  the  narrow  lane, 
if  you  visit  the  meeting  halls  in  the  city  or  look 
into  the  factories,  everywhere  you  see  that  same 
all-devouring  gaze  of  the  bold  young  woman, 
who  stares  with  a  kind  of  artificial  movement  of 
the  eyes.  And  sometimes  you  hear  even  so- 
called  Christians  say  that  it  is  a  weakness  of 
character  in  one  who  has  the  downcast  eyes  of 
modesty,  the  blush  of  innocence.  Such  people 
do  not  know  the  live  sense  and  fine  impulse  of  a 
pure  conscience.  When  a  young  man  puffs 
tobacco  smoke  or  shows  his  teeth  with  a  dis- 
approving smile  in  the  presence  of  and  at  the 
conversation   of   older   people,   then   society  is 


162        PEEACHING   IN   THE  KUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

wrong;  something  is  the  matter  with  his  family. 

In  view  of  all  this,  beloved,  the  preacher  of 
the  Word  of  God  is  obliged  by  a  terrible  oath 
he  has  given  before  he  received  the  gift  in 
Apostolic  succession  at  his  ordination,  to  present 
to  you  the  whole  of  the  Truth,  not  a  part  of  it. 

The  number  of  unmarried  people  is  increas- 
ing. And  there  are  some  married  people  who 
say:  "We  do  not  want  children,  because  we 
want  to  have  as  much  pleasure  as  possible." 
This  is  a  false  position,  for  in  a  Christian  mar- 
riage one  kind  of  pleasure  is  not  allowed  con- 
tinually. Christians  marry  for  the  sake  of  God 
and  His  law  as  much  as  they  do  for  themselves. 
But  Christians  who  remain  single  renounce 
marriage  and  live  holy  for  the  sake  of  God  and 
Him  alone.  Thus  we  find  that  the  family  tie  is 
abused,  as  well  as  the  single  state.  Courtship 
of  young  people  just  out  of  school  is  not  to  be 
advised,  because  it  often  leads  to  debauchery. 
A  courtship  running  through  long  years  also 
gives  occasion  to  sin  and  a  species  of  wTong- 
doing  to  God,  for  the  heart  and  its  love  are 
stolen  from  God  and  thrown  away  on  a  man. 

Throughout  all  the  long  centuries  of  Chris- 
tianity there  have  been  in  the  Church  heroic 
members,  young  people  of  both  sexes,  who  by 


THE   CONDITION   OF   SOCIETY.  163 

the  grace  of  God  have  kept  their  souls  pure  and 
intact,  and  have  dedicated  to  the  honor  of  God 
the  noblest  attribute  of  their  human  life,  namely, 
an  untarnished  purity  of  soul  and  body.  Such 
persons  have  had  the  courage  and  such  un- 
bounded confidence  in  God's  assistance  that, 
although  living  in  the  world  and  its  dangers, 
though  threatened  by  the  cravings  of  their  own 
individual  passions  and  by  the  temptations  of 
the  devil,  yet  they  have  succeeded  bravely  in 
preserving  this  treasure  even  in  a  frail  earthen 
vessel,  have  carried  it  uninjured  through  life's 
long  journey  here  below,  and  have  finally  pre- 
sented it  to  their  Lord. 

Christian  heroes  and  heroines,  you  who  have 
imitated  or  who  still  do  imitate  the  sublime  ex- 
ample of  the  Most  Blessed  Virgin,  the  Church 
admires  your  spirit  of  sacrifice  as  she  does  that 
of  the  holy  martyrs,  who  in  a  few  hours  finished 
their  contest  and  proved  their  fidelity  to  God 
and  their  faith;  because  you  have  to  combat,  to 
suffer,  and  to  sacrifice  your  whole  life  through. 
With  joy  and  veneration  do  the  angels  look  down 
upon  you,  for  you  resemble  themselves.  With 
motherly  affection  and  with  mighty  power  does 
the  Holy  Virgin  Mary  when  you  earnestly  pray 
throw  her  sheltering  omophorion  around  you, 


164        PREACHING  IN  THE  EUSSIAN  CHUECH. 

for  you  are  her  pupils  and  imitators.  With  the 
sweetness  of  divine  love  the  heavenly  Bridegroom 
will  fill  your  heart  and  more  than  compensate 
you  for  the  fleeting,  transient,  worldly  love  that 
you  have  laid  down  at  His  feet.  The  eternal 
Judge  will  find  you  waiting  like  the  wise  and 
prudent  virgins  who  all  through  life  carry  in 
their  hands  the  pure  oblation  of  love  and  the 
burning  light  of  good  example.  Therefore,  faith- 
ful to  the  end,  He  will  invite  you  to  the  eternal 
wedding  feast  in  heaven.    Amen. 


SEKMON  TO  THOSE  PEEPAKING  FOR 
HOLY  COMMUNION. 

Let  a  man  examine  himself,  and  so  let  him  eat  of  that 
bread,  and  drink  of  that  cup.  For  he  that  eatet/i  and 
drinketh  unworthily,  eateth  and  drinketh  damnation  unto 
himself.    (1  Cor.  xi:  28,  29.) 

THESE  words  of  the  Apostle  are  terrible, 
and  so  are  they  as  the  truth  unfailing. 
Verily  the  judgment  is  heavy  and  the  damnation 
terrible  for  the  one  who  receives  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ  without  due  honor  and  without 
such  a  disposition  of  the  spirit  as  is  required. 
A  terrible  judgment  has  befell  that  apostate 
people  who  sentenced  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to 
be  crucified,  when  they  cried:  His  blood  he  on 
us  and  on  our  children  (Matt).  But  that  unfor- 
tunate people  did  not  know  the  mystery  of  the 
incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  committed 
that  greatest  crime  in  blindness  and  ignorance  : 
For  had  they  knoivii,  says  St.  Paul,  they  should 
not  have  crucified  the  Lord  of  Glory.  Of  how 
much  sorer  punishment^  suppose  ye,  shall  be 
worthy  of  such  an  one,  who  was  born  in  Chris- 
tianity, from  childhood  taught  in  the  mysteries 
of  the  faith,  and  notwithstanding  all  this,  hath — 


166      PEEACHING  IN   THE  RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

by  light-heartedness  and  carelessness — trodden 
underfoot  the  Son  of  God,  and  hath  counted  the 
blood  of  the  covenant,  ivhereivith  he  was  sancti- 
fied, an  unholy  thing,  and  hath  done  despite 
unto  the  spirit  of  grace  (Heb.  x:  29). 

Hence  the  reason  why  the  Church  with  such 
care  strives  to  prepare  us  for  the  reception  of 
the  life-giving  mysteries  of  Christ  by  fast,  prayer, 
repentance.  After  a  few  moments  when  the  cup 
of  the  covenant  shall  be  brought  out,  unto  which 
we  must  approach  in  order  to  reanimate  within 
us,  renew  and  strengthen  our  covenant  with 
Jesus  Christ,  we  will  hear  the  last  call  of  the 
Church  which  summons  thus:  With  fear  of 
God  and  faith  approach  ye.  In  those  sacred 
moments  let  be  hushed  within  us  all  other 
thoughts,  let  be  banished  from  our  souls  all 
other  feelings,  besides  those  unto  which  the 
Holy  Church  would  elevate  our  spirits.  Let  us 
draw  near  with  fear  of  God,  faith  and  love, 
that  we  may  he  partakers  of  the  life  eternal. 

That  we  may  inspire  within  us  that  sacred 
fear,  let  us  consider:  Where  are  we  now?  Be- 
fore whom  do  we  stand?  Unto  what  do  we  ap- 
proach? Where  are  we?  Jfoses,  Jfoses,  called 
God  to  His  selected  leader  of  Israel,  draic  not 
nigh  hither:  put  off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet, 
for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy 


SERMON   FOR   HOLY   COMMUNION.  1G7 

ground  (Ex.  iii:  5).  Since  the  place  unto  which 
God  once  descended  has  become  sanctified,  and 
to  which  the  man  who  was  called  the  friend  of 
God  could  not  approach  without  care,  then  how 
much  holier  is  the  place  which  is  sanctified  by 
such  often  repeated  descensions  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  at  the  consecration  of  the  terrible  mys- 
teries upon  which  even  the  angels  look  with 
fear. 

Before  whom  do  we  stand?  It  is  the  God  of 
unapproachable  glory,  from  whose  presence  it 
was  once  that  Mt.  Sinai  blazed  and  trembled; 
the  God  Almighty,  who  spake  and  it  was  done; 
He  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast;  that  which  is 
not,  He  nameth  a  thing  existing;  He  maketh  to 
die  and  maketh  to  live;  He  lowereth  unto  hell 
and  raiseth  up  again;  the  God  All-holy,  who 
bears  not  with  iniquity  and  shuns  unrighteous- 
ness; the  Lord,  a  jealous  God,  who  exacts  of 
children  the  sins  of  fathers  even  unto  the  third 
and  fourth  generations;  the  God  All-righteous, 
who  came  down  to  see  the  wickedness  of  the 
citizens  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  which 
cities  the  heavenly  flame  swallowed  up.  It  is 
true  that  God  appears  to  us  here  in  His  body 
and  blood,  without  external  grandeur  and  glory, 
without  terrible  manifestations;  for,  were  it 
otherwise,  we  would  say  as  the  Israelites  had 


168       PEEACHING  IN   THE  RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

said:   Let  not  God  specik  with  its,  lest  lue  die. 
(Exod). 

Unto  what  do  we  approach?  To  the  Divine 
Bod}^,  which  Simeon,  the  saintly  old  man,  had 
once  received  in  his  hands  with  holy  fear;  to 
the  Divine  Body,  by  the  touch  of  which  the  sick 
were  healed,  the  leprous  cleansed,  and  which 
the  demons  feared;  before  the  nakedness  and 
wounds  of  which  the  sun  darkened,  the  earth 
quaked,  the  rocks  brake;  to  the  most  Glorious 
Body,  which  ascended  into  the  heavens  and 
upon  which  the  Cherubim  and  the  Seraphim 
look  with  fear.  True  it  is  that  it  appears  to  us 
in  the  form  of  common  food,  but  were  it  other- 
wise we  would  say  with  Peter :  Depart  from  me, 
for  I  am  a  sinful  man,  O  Lord!  (Matt,  v:  8). 
And  so  it  is  here  we  stand,  such  is  the  presence 
we  stand  before,  and  such  is  that  unto  which  we 
approach.  Great  is  the  gift  we  receive  from  the 
hand  of  the  Lord.  Holy  is  His  most  pure  body, 
holy  is  His  life-creating  blood,  and  therefore  let 
us  approach  the  cup  of  the  covenaut  with  greater 
care  and  more  fear  that  we  may  not  be  scorched 
with  its  flame,  that  we  may  receive  the  flesh  and 
blood  of  Christ  not  unto  judgment  and  con- 
demnation, but  unto  the  cleansing,  the  sanctifi- 
cation,  and  the  enlivening  of  our  nature  decay- 
ing in  sin.     Amen. 


ADDKESS  ON  CHKISTMAS  DAY. 

THE  Orthodox  Catholic  Church  celebrates 
to-day  the  nativity  of  our  Lord  and  Savior 
Jesus  Christ. 

Christmas  day  is  generally  observed  as  a  holi- 
day throughout  the  world.  And  verily  it  should 
be  a  day  of  rejoicing.  I  say  rejoice,  for,  glory 
to  God  in  the  highest,  we  are  now  enabled  to 
obtain  peace  on  earth,  as  the  good  will  of  our 
Creator  and  Judge  has  been  proclaimed  to  all 
men. 

Unfortunately  we  now  often  see  in  the  world 
a  decline  in  religious  celebrations  of  Christian 
festivals,*  just  as  in  political  and  civil  holidays 
we  now  often  notice  a  tendency  to  withdraw  from 
public  scenes  to  one's  own  narrow  sphere  of 
privacy,  personal  comfort,  and  individual  satis- 
faction. Such  conditions  are  detrimental  to  so- 
ciety at  large.  The  first  cause  of  it  all  is  the 
family  —  the   home   from   which   all   men   and 


*  The  majority  of  churches  in  San  Francisco  (as  is  the 
general  rule  in  America)  are  closed  and  have  no  purely 
religious  services  whatever  on  the  25th  of  December. 


170        PEEACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

women  take  into  the  world  the  form  of  their 
future  character.  The  nation  which  is  devoid 
of  lessons  in  religion  and  patriotism  in  the 
family  —  which  is  the  fountain  source  of  all 
learning — such  a  nation  is  going  to  destruction. 
Since  we  to-day  magnify  Christ,  the  giver  of 
life,  who  now  was  born  in  the  flesh  for  our  sake 
of  the  unwedded  and  most  pure  Virgin  Mary, 
we  may  most  appropriately,  as  duty  bound,  con- 
sider the  worth  of  our  celebration.  When  we 
hear  the  teaching  of  Him  who  to-day  was  a  little 
child  seeking  shelter  with  the  cattle  and  sheep, 
and  remember  that  He  said,  I  am  the  way,  and 
the  life,  and  ihe  truth,  and  also,  the  truth  icill 
make  you  free,  we  are  impressed  with  the  exalted 
character  of  Him  whose  mission  it  was  and  is 
to  gather  all  mankind  into  the  one  fold  of  the 
Only  Shepherd.  And  our  Lord  says  the  truth 
will  save  us.  We  must  study  the  truth  to  the 
full  measure  of  our  competency,  and  know  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  the  Savior.  We  must  use 
our  God-given  intellect  and  discern  true  doctrine 
from  falsehood.  We  must  worship  God  with  our 
whole  being,  body  and  soul,  consequently  we 
develop  our  reason  (as  our  faith  grows  stronger) 
and  praise  the  Lord  understandingly.  For  when 
we  worship  with  the  inspiring   feeling  of  our 


ADDRESS   ON   CHRISTMAS   DAY.  171 

heart  only,  we  bring  a  half  offering.  The  offer- 
ing must  be  whole. 

When  we  study  the  different  forms  of  worship 
of  different  people  who  are  considered  Christians, 
we  see  that  some  bow  in  adoration  with  fervent 
devotion,  while  others  with  exultant  heart  sing 
loud  praise,  as  if  carried  away  in  ecstasy,  de- 
priving the  spirit  of  one  of  its  faculties,  i.  e., 
adoration.  Now,  this  is  according  to  science, 
and  those  who  have  studied  psychology  know  it. 
True  and  complete  science  is  always  compatible 
with  religion.  The  Orthodox  and  Apostolic 
Church  has  ever  held  that  man  must  offer  praise 
from  a  warm  heart  while  devoutly  adoring  the 
Sublime  both  physically  and  spiritually,  and  at 
the  same  time  following  truthful  doctrine.  Yes, 
we  must  seek  and  study  the  truth.  I  do  not  say 
we  can  at  once  perfectly  know  it,  for  we  must 
first  comprehend  God,  who  is  the  truth.  When 
we  become  Christ-like  we  know  the  truth,  and 
the  truth  makes  us  free. 

The  Church  is  the  treasure  house  of  God  upon 
earth.  I  offer  these  precious  gems  to  you,  hoping 
you  will  take  them  away  to  your  homes,  safely 
guarded  in  a  grateful  heart,  and  earnestly  ponder 
over  them,  seeking  God  in  prayer  accompanied 
by  a  pure  life.     For  only  then  we  may  enter 


172       PREACHING  IN   THE   RUSSIAN   CHURCH. 

into  the  true  spirit  of  this  celebration  and  rightly 
comprehend  the  hymn  we  sing :  "  Christ  is  born ! 
Ye  faithful,  glorify!  Christ  from  the  heavens, 
Oh  come  to  greet  Him !  Christ  upon  the  earth, 
be  ye  lifted  on  high!  Sing  to  the  Lord,  all  the 
earth  !  And  in  gladness  praise  him.  O  ye  na- 
tions! for  he  hath  been  glorified!"     Amen. 


955.1 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


0035518880 


BRimE  DO  NOT 

PHOTOCOPY 


BOUND 


